In For a Penny
by Tandy
Summary: SetoAnzuTea A bit of language. Enjoy.
1. Chapter One

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In for a Penny…

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AN: This is my first fic in this fandom, I'll try to be as accurate as I can. Feel free to leave suggestions. I know that a lot of people don't like Anzu (Tea), but I like her, and even though I do like Joey/Seto fics I couldn't get this out of my head. Reviews are always appreciated. : D

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! Does not belong to me.

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She had been running wildly, preoccupied about being late for class that she hadn't noticed the body in front of her… that is until she ran smacked into it.

She ended up on top; her body sprawled on top of her unsuspecting victim. Dizzily she lifted her head up and came to the realization that the chest she had previously been resting her head on was clad in a blue trench coat. 'Oh, no.' She thought, 'please no.' Slowly and warily she lifted her gaze higher, until she came into contact with cold glaring blue eyes. 'Shit.'

"Get off Mazaki." Kaiba's contemptuous voice barked at her.

Cheeks flaming and hair in disarray, Anzu scrambled back up, trying as best she could not to touch him any more that she already had.

Seto lifted himself up with his usual grace, not a hair out of place. With one last sneer at Anzu he turned and went on his way.

Her class forgotten, Anzu watched Seto until he disappeared. There was no doubt about it. The boy was gorgeous; too bad he had the disposition of a rabid dog. Although he was far less insulting of her and the gang, he was by no means on friendly terms with them.

Disposition aside, Anzu could not ignore the broad shoulders, the beautiful blue eyes and the elegant and spicy cologne that she had just had the privilege of feeling, seeing and smelling. She couldn't help being a bit gleeful.

The bell rang then interrupting her wayward thoughts and reminding her of her class. She dashed off once again, this time sure to keep both eyes open.

Beside the fact that she had gotten detention for her tardiness, the day had gone smoothly for Anzu. But the class she had been dreading was approaching.

History… with Kaiba.

Kaiba unnerved her in a way no one could. The steely glare always made her turn away and his rebukes at her approaches of friendship made it even worst. Crashing into him hadn't help matters.

She made a point to arrive early to her history class. She did not need another Kaiba encounter to ruin her mood. She sat near the front, knowing full well that the ever-alone Kaiba sat in the back of the room.

Thirty minutes into class and Anzu had been half listening to her teacher, half dazing off into space. Her teacher's next few words however had her full attention.

"You will be working in partners for your next assignment. The pairs have already been randomly chosen, when you hear your name being called move next to your partner and discuss what your topic is going to be." The teacher said.

Anzu had a moment of pure dread where she imagined being paired with Kaiba. She quickly dismissed the thought. No way she could be _that _unlucky.

"Matt and Kristen…" the teacher went on and Anzu waited patiently for her name, "Seto and Anzu…"

'Shit.'

Anzu looked back to where Kaiba was sitting, he had such a look of horrid disbelief that it would have been funny had it not been directed at her.

Steeling herself, Anzu packed her belongings and settled next to the taciturn Kaiba.

"Hey Kaiba."

"I don't need your help Mazaki, I can do this myself, so why don't you make yourself useful and leave?" he sneered at her.

Today was definitely not her day.

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So how was it? I know it was a bit short. Please review. Please! It'll encourage me to update sooner!


	2. Chapter Two

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AN: Oh, wow, I didn't really expect that many reviews! Hence I'm updating a mere two days after… I normally take about a week, but I'm just thrilled at the responses. Thank you: Dragonking,Candance, nightfall2525, Baka Muyou, Miryoku, Mae Crawford, Silver Mist4, Mamono, GoddessOfImaginaryLightKokuei, isishikage, Agelfirey, Nine of Spades, Malik Fan 03, Kodaiej Kasaki Ennovy. You guys are awesome. I hope you enjoy this chapter also!

Rating PG-13, some adult subject matter but not enough in my opinion to raise the rating. Would you guys like me to raise the rating… I could do a lemon… ?

In for a Penny…

Chapter Two

"Kaiba, we need to do this _together!_ The teach-"

"I don't care what she said. I'm not partnering up with you." The contempt in his voice just about dripped from his lips.

"Well too bad because the teacher already partnered us up, so now we have to deal with it. We may not like each other much but we need the grade to pass this class!"

"Then don't do anything," Seto snarled at her, "I'll do the whole project alone, you're probably only going to get on my way and mess up the assignment."

"I happened to get the some of the best grades in this school!" Anzu cried out indignantly.

"Better than mine?"

"I do have a life Kaiba." Anzu answered although she honestly didn't know Kaiba's grades but judging from the way he went about dual monsters she would think that the obsession to the be the best would transfer to all areas of his life including his schoolwork. 

"That would be a 'no' then." He gave her his trademark 'I'm better than you' smirk. Anzu berated herself for finding it sexy.

"Why are you being impossible? It's just a damn project, is it that much of a sacrifice to spend a few hours with me doing the damn thing?"

"Yes."

"You jerk! Like hanging out with you is all sunshine and roses. Seriously Kaiba we _need_ to do this."

"I already told you I'm going to do the whole thing."

"I'm not willing to let you do it by yourself, it's my responsibility too and I will not cheat." Anzu lifted her chin in defiance.

"Fine. Just shut up, you're giving me a headache with that screech of yours." Seto couldn't stand the whinny brat ever since she had the audacity to tell him off at Pegasus' castle. What did she know about his life any way? 'Baka onna.' He didn't know how he was going to stand doing the project with her. 

Anzu reigned in her exasperation, she was sure it would affect her grade in the class if she suddenly decided to strangle the arrogant prick.

She took another calming breath before she spoke again, "Fine. What are we going to choose as our topic?"

The question prompted another round of bickering and before either of them knew it the bell rang. Both shut up instantly at the realization that they had spent the whole period arguing and getting nowhere. 'Time flies when you're having fun,' Anzu thought sarcastically. 

She gathered her things and stood up, she liked the height advantage that it gave her over the still sitting Kaiba. She looked down on him questioningly. 

"Meet me at my house at 5:00 o'clock, we still need to choose the topic and get started on the research. Don't be late."

"I can be there at seven." She turned and left, leaving a highly pissed off Seto.

He watched with disdain as she joined Yugi and the mutt in the doorway of the classroom, all the while trying to ignore what killer legs she had.

"What were you talking with Kaiba for?" Jou asked glaring at Seto. 

"She was looking for some intelligent conversation. An area in which she finds her friends sorely lacking." Seto answered from the inside the class as he stood up and got ready to leave.

"Why you…. You…" Jou stuttered in anger, his fist in the air and ready to fight.

"Jou calm down." Yugi said in his usual mild voice as he pulled the still enraged Jou away from the fast approaching Kaiba.

Seto quickly reached them, giving a withering glare to Jounouchi as he passed him. "Be there at 5:00 sharp." He said to Anzu. Jou gave an undignified squawk.

"I'll see you at seven," Anzu responded hotly. 

"What?!" Seto could hear Jou's hysterical voice demanding explanations from Anzu as he left. He quite enjoyed tormenting the mutt. 

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Anzu arrived at the towering mansion exactly at 6:00 o'clock. She thought it was a good compromise. She didn't intend to be at Kaiba's beck and call, it would serve him well to find out that not everyone was willing to bend over backwards for him.

She rang the bell and waited patiently for someone to open the door, she was surprised to find out that someone was none other than Kaiba himself. 

"You're late Mazaki."

"I'm actually an hour early," she smiled as she pointed to her watch. She had barely finished speaking when she found herself staring at the wooden door. The jerk had shut the door in her face! Anzu pounded furiously at the door while yelling a multitude of profanities until it opened once again. 

There stood Kaiba in all his furious glory. 'Oh uh, his eye is twitching… definitely not a good sign.'

"I need to pick up my brother from his class at 6:30." Seto said through clenched teeth, clearly trying to contain his anger, "We can discuss the topic on the way."

"Umm…okay."

"Let's go then," Seto said as he led her to his car.

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What do you guys think? Remember to review, I happened to be very addicted and reviews always make me update quicker. * hint* *hint * ^_~


	3. Chapter Three

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AN-Thanks to: ?, Selma ,Candace, Hieilovesbotan, Alley Mack, The Great Tomato Head, Ice Ember, Mamono, Isishikage (Thanks for the quotes! I love the chewing gum one! lol and I used burger world.), Serenity Komoshiro, Malik fan 03, Just this once, Kagome 87, Josh, Nine of Spades, Angelfirey. Thank you guys so much! 

Sorry, but I'm a newbie *blush*…dumb question: How old are they really? I'm not going to do a lemon… It might get a little lemony though. I'm making them 17/18 for my fic. 

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In for A Penny…

Chapter Three 

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The tension inside the car was stifling, Anzu was highly aware of Kaiba's still murderous temper, and while his eye was no longer twitching the vein popping out his forehead was just as alarming. Not wanting to antagonize him further she wisely kept her mouth shut and resigned herself to study his profile as he drove. His mouth was drawn into a thin line and his eyes, which were surprisingly framed by long thick lashes, were fixed on the road. Anzu wondered what it would feel like to run her hands through his brown hair. 

Kaiba suddenly turned to look at her, she blushed at being caught staring and turned away quickly, deeming the passing scenery a better choice for her eyes to focus on.

Seto had sensed her staring at him for some minutes, her scrutiny made him uneasy; a feeling he wasn't much accustomed to. He'd turned to ask her what the hell was so fascinating about his face but she turned away so fast that he was surprised she wasn't suffering from whiplash. She certainly was an odd one he thought.

"Look, I'm sorry okay. If you would have just explained that you needed to pick up Mokuba I would have been at your house earlier." Anzu said after her blush receded. Kaiba looked reasonably calmed so she attempted peace. 

"I told you to be there at five sharp."

"Did it ever occurred to you that I'm not one of your employees? You can't order me around."

"I have things to do, I can't afford to waste my time."

"I understand that but the least you could have done was set up a time that was convenient for both of us. I have other things to do too."

"My apologies, I didn't mean to keep you from your boyfriend Yugi." Kaiba said sarcastically. " We're here," he said as he parked smoothly in place. He exited the car before Anzu could negate his statement.

"Seto!" Anzu turned just in time to see Mokuba ran pass her window and into Seto's arms. Fascinated she watched the brotherly interaction. It always amazed her how Seto became a little less guarded with his brother. She still remembered the heartbreaking scene of Kaiba reaching out to Mokuba only to be turned to stone before reaching each other. Seto was smiling slightly now and ruffling his brother's hair. Anzu smiled despite herself, Seto wasn't that bad after all, it was obvious he loved his brother very much.

Anzu got out of the car to say hi to Mokuba. He was a really sweet kid and she hadn't really talked to him since the whole Noah incident. "Hey Mokuba, how have you been?"

"Anzu! What are you doing here? Are you Seto's girlfriend now?" Mokuba asked with wide-eyed innocence. Anzu giggled nervously not knowing what to say. 

"Were doing a project for school." Seto quickly told Mokuba. "Lets go, get in the car."

Mokuba readily complied. "Seto?" He said from the back seat of the car.

"Hmm?"

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat at Burger World. You don't mind do you Anzu?"

"Nope, I'm kinda hungry too." Anzu smiled at Mokuba through the rearview mirror as Kaiba gripped the wheel tighter. 'Great, now I have to spend even more time with her,' he thought.

Anzu and Mokuba spent the drive to Burger World chattering about. Anzu wondered at Mokuba's expressive face and his talkative ways it was just so different from his brother's. 'Now why can't Kaiba be more like his brother?' Anzu asked herself. 

"There's no one at the pinball Machine!" Mokuba exclaimed as they entered the restaurant. He went running to it, leaving Anzu and Seto to find a seat.

"I thought he was hungry." She said as they settled into a booth. 

"He'll come back after he tires," Kaiba responded.

The Kaiba brothers apparently visited Burger World frequently because one of the waitresses was asking Kaiba if they would have their usual only moments after they had arrived. Kaiba told her yes and let Anzu order for herself.

"Come here often, huh?"

"Mokuba likes it."

A few minutes later they were both eating quietly, neither of them sure how to proceed. Kaiba wasn't used to eating with anyone but his brother and Anzu was not used to eating with Seto Kaiba. Soon, however they were done with their food. Both looked expectantly at each other.

It was Seto who broke the silence, "I say we do the project on businesses."

"I've already said no. We should do something fun, like ballet!" 

"No."

"Yes."

"No."  


"What are you guys arguing about?" Mokuba asked as he sat himself next to Anzu.

"The topic of our project. We're supposed to pick something and research its history as far back as we can." Anzu explained.

"Oh, cool you could do it on the Dual Monsters!" Mokuba said as he tucked into the dinner that Seto had ordered for him when he was at the pinball machine. 

Surprised, Anzu and Seto turned to stare at each other. Anzu liked the idea and she knew Seto did too when he gave her that smirk of his. "You're awesome kid! " Anzu said as she leaned down to kiss Mokuba on the cheek, making him blush. 

"Can I have some ice-cream Seto?" He said after recovering from his blush.

"After you finish your dinner." Seto told him. 

Mokuba finished his dinner, had some ice cream and played on the pinball machine again while Seto and Anzu worked out some of the details of the research before they were ready to leave. Seto insisted on paying for dinner, Anzu grudgingly accepted promising to pay next time. 

"Where do you live?" Seto asked when they were inside his car.

"Excuse me?"

"So I can drop you off genius."

Anzu told him, feeling very weird about having Seto drive her home. She had never had a boy take her home, sure Yugi, Honda, and Jou had walked her home in more than one occasion but it wasn't the same, they were her friends. 

"Bye Anzu!" Mokuba said from the back seat when they reached her house.

"Bye Mokuba. Kaiba." She said as she got out. 

"I'll see you tomorrow at six." Seto said.

"On the dot," Anzu smiled at Kaiba.

Mokuba moved to the front seat and watched Anzu enter her home. "She's really nice isn't she Seto? Can we invite her to dinner again?" Mokuba asked his brother.

"Yes." Seto replied automatically, thinking about the paperwork that he still had to complete for Kaiba Corp.

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Cookies for all the people that review! ~_^ 


	4. Chapter Four

AN: Thanks to: Alley Mack, TsukasaSubaru4Eva,_ Destiny 1029, Saturnion1, Seguha, Kagome 87, Mamono, Ryo and Bakura fan (How do you want bakura or ryo. Evil? Nice, Yaoi?), Hielovesbotan, snowflake, yahi, angelus_2040, Candace, Serenity Koshimoro, PoCky_loves, Angelfiery, Midnightkatt, isishikage,Azurite. Thank you, you guys rock! _

Just so you guys know, I'll be updating weekly from now on. Maybe sooner, but expect them weekly.

Would anyone be interested in being my beta-reader? I would really appreciate it. :D

For anyone who doesn't know the proverb for the title its: In for a Penny, in for Pound. I didn't know the equivalent in Japanese currency but the concept is still the same.

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**In For A Penny…**

Chapter four 

"How did it go with Mr. Money bags last night?" Jou asked the next day at lunch.

It still amazed Anzu that the previous night had gone so well despite the less than smooth beginning. Kaiba had been almost civil to her, he'd paid for dinner and driven her home… it almost sounded like a date. She blushed at the thought, which drew a curious look from Yugi. 

"Umm… it was fine. I have to go over his house again since we didn't have time to do the research yesterday."

"Again?! I feel so bad for you Anzu, spending time with Kaiba two days in a row. How long are you going to working with him?" Honda asked.

"The project is due in three weeks, so it depends how fast we work."

"You just tell me if he tries something funny with you." Jou said, his obvious dislike of Kaiba evident in his voice.

"Jou is right, if you have trouble with Kaiba, just tell the teacher, maybe she'll pair you with someone else," Yugi suggested. "Kaiba is not the easiest person to work with, it'll be completely understandable."

"Guys it's okay really, Kaiba is… not that bad." Anzu said with a smile.

"Whatever you say…"

Anzu's attention shifted when she noticed Kaiba entering the cafeteria. He sat down by himself and instantly opened his briefcase and took out his laptop. He started typing furiously, eating only once a while. Anzu felt bad for him, he didn't really have any friends other than Mokuba. As much as Kaiba loved his brother he was still a kid, not able to substitute a friend his age. Of course Kaiba didn't help matters by being the arrogant jerk he was.

When he looked up from his laptop Anzu waved to him and gave him a bright smile. Kaiba looked confused for a minute before shooting her a glare and going back to his computer. _What is wrong with that twit? _He asked himself.

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Kaiba was sitting in his usual seat at the back of the room when Anzu came into the classroom. She stayed close to the door while she debated with herself, she then finally gave in and went to sit down next to Kaiba. He really did look lonely.

Seto felt someone move in the next seat next to him. No one ever sat next to him, they knew better. He turned around to give the idiot a piece of his mind and was met with pretty cerulean eyes twinkling merrily at him.

"Hi!" 

"What are you doing?" He asked clearly puzzled.

"Thought you could use some company." 

"You thought wrong. Move." He snarled at her.

"But-"

"Move. I don't need any company and least of all yours." 

"Fine." Hurt, she moved rapidly toward the front of the room.

He almost felt bad at her crestfallen expression when he told her to get lost. Almost. What the hell did she think she was doing any way? Trying to befriend him? He didn't need friends, he didn't need anyone. It would be best if she got the idea out of her head, she'd been badgering him since Dual Kingdom about having friends. She was so naïve. 

Meanwhile, Anzu was chiding herself about her stupidity. Feeling sad for Kaiba, why should she? He was an asshole. The way she saw it the previous night had been a fluke, the result of having Mokuba with them. He always acted a semi-decent when he was around. He probably wouldn't have taken her home if they had been alone. '_I'm such a moron,'_ she thought. 

When the class finished, Anzu left to join her friends without so much as a glance his way. 

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This time Mokuba opened the door when Anzu arrived. She was curious to note that apparently the Kaiba brothers didn't have a butler or a maid to open the door. The first thing she did when she entered the mansion was gawk. It was amazing, fantastic, out of a fairy tale, it was just plain beautiful without the sense of austerity that so many rich houses had.

"I'm so glad you're doing this project with my brother," Mokuba said while he tugged at her hand and led her to the parlor. "Wait here. I'll get my brother. He's working in his office like always."

Surprisingly the parlor looked amazingly lived in, with a sense of welcome that she wouldn't have expected in the Kaiba household. Maybe it was Mokuba's doing. She sat gingerly on the sofa, waiting for grumpy as she had recently come to dub the elder Kaiba. 

He entered with his usual arrogant flare looking his nose down at her. Anzu's eyes almost popped out of her head, Kaiba was wearing a regular T-shirt and jeans . Loose, faded, low hanging jeans, which fit perfectly on his tall and lanky frame. She'd seen Kaiba in uniform, in trench coats and slacks, but never ever with jeans. It was definitely a new look for the CEO… a very good look. 

"We'll do our work in the library. Follow me." He said turning around and heading out through another door in the parlor. Anzu followed quietly, trying not to enjoy the view that much. Yes, he was a jerk, but Anzu was anything but blind. 

The library was already set up with two computers, paper, pencils and even some refreshments. It was huge, with towering bookshelves and spiraling staircases. Anzu was in awe. "Are you going to gawk all day or are you going to work?" Seto's voice brought her out of her daze.

She sat down across from him and placed her bag on the mahogany table, taking out her notes. "I already did some research, I have the origin and purpose of the cards…" 

They immersed themselves into the project, unexpectedly working well together. In synch they passed books, read passages, worked on the computers and shared ideas. Seto, much to his chagrin, discovered that Anzu was a very intelligent girl instead of the airhead he had pegged her for. For Anzu, she found out that Seto was much more tolerable when he had his mouth shut or reading out loud from a history textbook. 

Seto looked up from his reading and looked up at the antique grandfather clock. They had been working for two hours straight, it was time to call it quits. They'd done a lot of research but they were still nowhere near done. 

"I think we've done enough for today," Seto said getting up.

Stiff from sitting down so long, Anzu stretched, her arms straight up in the air, her breasts straining against her shirt. With out meaning to his eyes were drawn to her chest. He felt his face heating up when Anzu noticed his gaze. She quickly dropped her hands down to her sides. She giggled mentally, who knew Seto Kaiba was a regular boy after all?

"When do you want us to meet again?" Anzu asked after the awkward moment passed.

"Next week. Tuesday."

"I can't. How bout Wednesday?"

Seto sighed annoyed, "Sure, why the hell not," he said as he exited the library, Anzu in tow. 

They found Mokuba asleep in the parlor, his little feet curled up under the cushions, his mouth slightly agape while he snored softly.

"Oh what a little angel," Anzu exclaimed as she smoothed out his long hair. Seto's throat constricted at the tenderness in Anzu's voice. She then leaned in to give him a kiss on his little nose. He swallowed hard, remembering a time when his mother had done that for him.

Seto went over to pick up his brother and take him to bed. Anzu watched as Kaiba lifted his brother into his arms carefully as not to wake him. No matter how much she disliked Kaiba, her heart always broke for him when she saw him with his little brother. She couldn't imagine being responsible for another human being. 

Mokuba woke up even with Seto's mindful attempts not to wake him. "Hey." He said sleepily, "You're going to drive Anzu home right?"

"Oh that's okay, I'll take a cab."

"No, Seto you have too drive her home. You have to, it started raining a while ago. Seto please." Mokuba gave Seto the puppy eyes that he knew his brother could never resist. "Put me down now, I can walk."

Seto placed his brother gently on his feet. Wobbling slightly, Mokuba gave Anzu a tight hug and headed up the stairs. 

"Let's go." Seto said to Anzu.

"You don't have to." 

"Yes I do. Mokuba wants me to so I will."

"Listen, we both know you can't stand me so I'll just take a cab."

"You're right, I can't stand you but I'm still going to drive you home. It's only fair, you come here after all."

"Okay," Anzu said after considering his words, it was true she had to come all the way to his place. 

The ride to her home was spent in a comfortable silence, they seemed to have reached a truce during their studies. It certainly didn't mean that they liked each other much, but at least they could be in each other's company with out tearing at each other's throats.

By the time they reached Anzu's home the rain was coming down heavily. She was preparing to open the car door and run as fast as she could to avoid getting soaked when she heard Kaiba's door open. He headed to her side of the car and opened the door for her, an umbrella in hand. 

Anzu stared up at him unbelievingly. "Well?" He said raising an elegant eyebrow.

She stood up, and ducked under the cover of the umbrella. It brought her extremely close to Kaiba, so close that they were shoulder to shoulder. Fleetingly, Anzu noticed that her head didn't even reach Kaiba's shoulders. 

They stopped at the foot of her door. "Thank you Kaiba," Anzu said, then without thinking she stood on tiptoes to give Kaiba a peck on the cheek.

Horrified, she quickly unlocked the door and went in, leaving Kaiba outside with comically wide eyes and a tingling cheek.

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What do you guys think? I have some chocolate chip cookies. J 


	5. Chapter Five

_Thanks so much to: Silvermist, Morgannia, Miryoku, Mystical Miyuki, Destiny 1029, Mamono, Lynderia, Loyal to S/A, Noble Paladin, kagome87, Alley Mack, isishikage, Emily, Zikkai, ChibiBer-Chan, Mine of Spades, Svelte Rose, PackleaderT, Angelfirey, Angelous 2040, Serenity Komoshiro, Azurite, Goddess Hikari, Malik fan 03, Hieilovesbotan, Jarjayes, Mistress fire, Alexi Serenitia, Suheil373, Keikogurl, Nina, Darkdragon 2484, Novalee Sims, Ma-au_. _Out of breath!_ _Hope I didn't forget anybody. Thanks a lot._

_As I'm lacking a beta please forgive any mistakes. I'm doing my best! xx. I did my best on this chapter but seeing as how I'm so late in updating I decided to post ASAP._

_I apologize profusely about updating so late. I hit a stump, no idea what to do with this next chapter. J I hope you guys enjoy. I'll try again to update constantly, but sometimes it'll be longer, have no fear I never leave my fics unfinished. :D_

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**In for a Penny…**

Chapter Five

He brought a hand up to his cheek as if to erase the still tingling feeling, he failed miserably. Realizing he was still staring at the door, he quickly walked to his car and drove home. Obviously the kiss was one of the quirks from her annoyingly perky personality. The silly twit had clearly regretted it as soon as she had kissed him, he didn't relish working with her on Wednesday; she'd probably be all blushes and giggles like most girls. '_How irritating', _Seto thought with disgust.

As soon as he reached his home he went to check on Mokuba; he was sleeping peacefully in his room. Satisfied that his brother was safe and sound he went to his office. There he asked one of the unobtrusive maids to prepare him a cup of strong coffee and a light meal. Quickly he lost himself in his work. _Kaibacorp stock was up, the new prototype for the duel games needed some adjustments, the meeting with the board members had been moved up… _He stopped his work only momentarily to take sips of his rapidly cooling coffee. And all the while Anzu's ill-advised kiss kept replaying in the back of his mind. He dutifully went back to his work refusing to give it any importance.

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Anzu watched her friends from her seat on the bench, Honda and Jou were goofing around like always, Yugi was talking quietly with Ryou, Otogi, never one to miss an opportunity, was flirting with Shizuka. She smiled to herself, thankful for having such wonderful friends. They had decided to spend Saturday morning at the park to have a pic-nique. The timing couldn't have been better for Anzu, she needed to compose herself before facing Kaiba again, and the best way to forget about Kaiba was to have fun with her friends. 

Of course, she was still thinking of him and the idiotic kiss she had given him. Kaiba hadn't made a big deal out of it the previous day, actually he hadn't spoken a word to her… which if she thought about it was pretty standard for him. The day that Anzu was dreading was Wednesday when she had to meet him face to face in the afternoon to work on their project. She was sure she was going to die from embarrassment. '_Why oh why did I have to kiss Kaiba!' _Anzu thought shaking her head.

Maybe it was the way he treated his brother, or the way he had gone all gentlemanly towards her, showing yet another side of him that rarely anyone saw. Still one does not go around kissing Seto Kaiba! What would her friends say? Jou would surely have a seizure if he ever found out. She didn't want to think about it any longer but her mind refused to listen and she kept thinking about the damn kiss anyway.

It had been an innocent little peck on the cheek but it was enough to let Anzu know that Kaiba had light stubble and that he smelled deliciously good and… She sat up in a flash her eyes almost popping out of her head. _'She had not been thinking what she had been thinking!' _Yeah, Kaiba was attractive but she had never been attracted. Oh hell no, she wasn't falling for Mr. Grumpy. It had to be temporary insanity, it would pass.

"Hey Anzu, you seem troubled. Are you okay?" Ryou asked sitting down next to her.

"Oh I'm fine. Just thinking." She assured him.

"Well, if you need anything just ask," Ryou said smiling shyly at her through his fringe.

"Thanks Ryou, you're a great friend."

"I'll leave you to your thoughts then."

Ryou was going back to talk to Yugi when Anzu got an idea. "Wait, actually I think I do need something. Can you do me a favor?" Anzu asked hopefully.

"Anything you want Anzu," he answered smiling brilliantly at Anzu.

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It seem all her worrying about facing Kaiba had been in vain for he was no where to be found. Mokuba assured her that he would be home any second but Anzu was getting restless, she'd waited for 45 minutes already. She wanted to go but was afraid to leave fearing that if Kaiba got home soon he would conclude that she was too chicken for not wanting to face him due to her embarrassment. Not that she wasn't embarrassed but she was going to swallow the embarrassment and act like the mature woman she was. It was no big deal, she had only given him, a casual acquaintance with the personality of a barracuda, a teeny tiny kiss on the cheek. She groaned at the thought of her stupidity. 

"Anzu?" Mokuba was sitting in the Parlor floor, textbooks strewn all around him.

"Hmm."

"You wouldn't happen to know about Geometry?"

"Sure do! Need help?"

"Pleaseee! I just don't get this problem."

"Let's take a look." She said as she sat down next to him to see the problem he was pointing too.

Moments later Kaiba entered the room with his metal briefcase in hand. He blinked at the scene before him, Anzu and Mokuba were both lying on the floor shoulder to shoulder, Mokuba was listening attentively as Anzu explained the properties of isosceles triangles.

It was Mokuba who noticed him first, he rushed to the floor to give his brother a hug. Seto never understood why his brother was so affectionate, not that he minded, it was only odd that they would be so different.

"Shall we get to work then?" He asked Anzu as he returned his brother's embrace.

"Sure, but I can only stay for and hour." She said apologetically. Kaiba shot her a glare." Don't look at me like that, you're the one that's a hour late."

"Let's go to the library, well work there again." He turned to Mokuba, "I'll see you in a little while, meanwhile finish your homework."

Once again Anzu was led to the library by Kaiba, but this time his shoulders were slightly hunched and his walk was no longer so arrogant. Anzu noticed how he warily sat down in one of the seats.

"Move it Mazaki, we only have an hour and the longer this project takes the longer I have to spend time with you." He sneered at her.

_'Obnoxious prick_!' Anzu thought. "Then start working already and keep your mouth shut." If Seto was surprised at her response he didn't show it.

Again they worked eerily in tandem; speaking quietly to ask questions and give ideas. They worked fluidly together, and what was most surprising was that no arguments arose during their work. They both realized that their grade was on the line and seemed to draw a truce. At least while they were working.

Anzu looked at her watched and stood up quickly, "Oh! It's time for me to go." The time had just flown for her.

"Let's just finish this and then I'll drive you home." Seto said not getting up from his seat.

"Oh don't worry about it. I have a ride home."

"A ride?"

"Yeah, Ryou is probably waiting outside." She was so grateful that Ryou was kind enough and agreed to pick her up. She didn't want another bout of temporary insanity; who knew what she would do next time!

"Oh."

"Yeah, Um… I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Not tomorrow, I'm busy. Friday?"

"Okay," she had plans to go out at night, but she could spare a few hours. Kaiba on the other hand seemed to always be busy. Did he ever have any fun? It was then that Anzu noticed how tight his face was drawn with fatigue, how much paler his complexion looked and how dark the black circles under his eyes were.

"Hey you know what? I'll finish this." She said as she took the papers they had been working on. Kaiba needed to rest. "I'll let myself out. Bye."

"Mazaki," His voice stopped her before she was outside the door. She was afraid he was going to mention the kiss. She fidgeted as she waited for him to speak. "Thank you for helping Mokuba with his homework today."

"Sure thing, it was no big deal." Relived she gave Kaiba a kind smile before leaving.

_'Ryou was giving her a ride? Ryou?' _Seto thought angrily, he never liked the freak. He scoffed at Anzu's choice of boyfriends. What did he care? She could date whatever moron she wanted to. It was no concern of his and now that she had a ride he didn't have to waste time to drive her home and anymore. He went to work on Kaibacorp matters but the feelings of disappointment and resentment wouldn't budge. '_It has to be lack of sleep,' _he rationalized.

* * *

_What did you guys think? I'm not too sure about this chapter… leave your comments please! I promise next chapter will be more Anzu/Seto interaction. I know this chapter wasn't too riveting._

_Review! I have looking around for things to bribe the readers umm… Cookies again! J_


	6. Chapter Six

Thanks to: Pyro-Panda, MotherChowGoddess, Cerulan No Himen ,Kikoken, Tean/Anzufan, Keikogurl, SilverMist4, Mamono, Azurite, Jarjayes, Noble-Paladin, Marin M, Denebola, Ma-au, Anime-AngelWings, Asuka2004, Serenity Koshimoro, Lunar Dragon 209,Momo 281, Quoth theRaven, Nevermor, Svelte rose. THANKS!

Thank you Mamono for beta-ing for me, I don't know how I wrote this with out you before!

* * *

In For A Penny…

Chapter 6

"_How do I get into these situations?" _Anzu thought.

Her current situation being that she was sitting between the Kaiba brothers at a moving theater and watching a cartoon movie that Mokuba found remarkably hilarious, if his boisterous laughs were anything to judge by. Anzu, on the other hand, hadn't paid the least bit of attention due her highly uncomfortable place at Kaiba's right. He was sitting straight as a board, staring unblinkingly at the screen as if it was the most riveting thing he'd ever seen.

It had been a usual day; she went to school, spent her time with her friends, agreed to go out somewhere that night, said goodbye, went to dance class, finished her homework and headed to Kaiba's home. That was the beginning of her highly unconventional day.

She decided to go a bit earlier so she could hang around for a while with Mokuba; the little kid was just too cute. Like before, Mokuba was there to greet her at the door. Happy to see her, the boy quickly led her to the parlor where he promptly and excitedly talked Anzu's ear off. After a few moments of the idle chitchat Anzu ended up helping Mokuba with his homework.

"Mokuba, does your brother ever help you with your homework?" She didn't like to think that Mokuba was being neglected like that.

"Of course he helps me!" Mokuba quickly rose to his brother's defense. "He's just always so busy."

Anzu gave him an encouraging smile and let the subject drop. She felt that Mokuba needed more attention from his brother and some friends his age… but it really was none of her concern.

"You're early, Mazaki. I'm impressed." Kaiba said from the doorway.

"And you're on time, so we're definitely making improvement." She responded earning a glare from Kaiba and a giggle from Mokuba.

"Have you eaten?" He asked Mokuba completely ignoring Anzu.

"Yup."

"Finished your homework?"

"Yup."

Anzu smiled inwardly; who knew Kaiba was such a mother hen?

"Good. I have to work with Mazaki but I'll see you afterwards." Seto said as he walked toward the library, leaving Anzu to follow. She gave one final smile to Mokuba before following Kaiba.

In having done this twice, she already knew the routine and started working immediately. Kaiba still looked tired, even more so than in their last meeting.

"You didn't screw up that bad, Mazaki." Kaiba said, referring to the papers Anzu had taken home and finished.

"Oh thanks," Anzu said sarcastically. "And quit calling me Mazaki, it's annoying."

"_You_ call me Kaiba."

"All right then, Seto." She said with a smile, glad that she finally would get to call him by his first name.

"Who said you could call me Seto?" He said, lifting a brow.

Anzu, who was about to respond with a few choice words, noticed the barely-there twitch in the corner of his mouth. He was teasing her! An answering smile lit up in Anzu's face.

Hours later, Anzu got up and stretched around the room. Kaiba, feeling tired himself, decided they had done enough for the day, they were almost done anyway. "If we meet twice next week we'll still be finished a week early. I don't see the point of staying today any longer."

"That eager to get rid off me?" Anzu joked.

"Yes."

"You are such-"

Mokuba came bounding into the library full of energy like always. "Are you guys done now?"

Seto nodded while he opened his laptop and started working on something else.

"Great! Can we go to the movies then? There's this really cool movie out! Please, Seto, please, big brother." Mokuba asked him with imploring eyes.

Seto sighed and closed the laptop.

"Yay! We're going to have so much fun, Anzu!"

"Oh, Mokuba, I can't go. I already have plans."

"Please, Anzu!" She couldn't deny those puppy dog eyes of his. She looked at Kaiba for help but only received that quirk of his lips.

"All right, I just have to make some phone calls." And that had been that; she had succumbed to the will of an 11 year-old boy.

She ended up making flimsy excuses to her friends of why she couldn't join them. So she not only felt uncomfortable being with that Kaiba brothers but also guilty about misleading her friends. Mokuba let out another loud chortle and her guilt eased a bit. He was really good kid and a kid she was rapidly coming to love.

Seto, on the other hand, was a major pain in the ass; she barely tolerated him for the sake of the school project. How could such a sweet kid like Mokuba have such an ass of a brother? Seto Kaiba was obnoxious, arrogant and just plain mean sometimes… and incredibly hot. She stiffened at the wayward thought.

"Relax, _Anzu_, I don't bite." Seto whispered in her ear.

"You sure about that?" She turned to face him.

"Almost," even in the darkness of the theater Anzu was sure he had that damn smirk plastered on his face.

"Thank you again for indulging Mokuba." He said still very close to her, so very close to her. It seemed Kaiba was only polite when it had to do with his brother.

For some reason Anzu blushed to the roots of her hair. "Oh, it's no big deal."

"Shh!" Mokuba chastised them.

Gradually, as the movie progressed, Anzu's self-consciousness at being next to Kaiba lessened. She relaxed further when she heard him give a small chuckle at the cartoon's antics. By the time the movie ended, both were unconsciously leaning toward each other, Anzu's head almost resting on Seto's shoulder.

"That was great, wasn't it?" Mokuba said, standing up from his seat.

"Yeah, Mokuba, I'm glad I came." Anzu said, a little surprised that she meant it. Friday night with the Kaiba's hadn't been that bad.

The three exited the theater in comfortable quietness. Seto walked a few feet behind, watching Anzu and his brother talk about the movie. Mokuba seemed so at ease with Anzu, genuinely happy with her, he couldn't help but being jealous of it. Had he ever played with his brother like that? Ever talked with Mokuba about anything other than Dual Monsters or homework? He didn't think so. He was glad Mokuba didn't resent him, that he still bounded up to him when he got off from work and school; he was a good kid. Unbidden shame washed over him and he vowed to spend more time with his brother.

"_Anzu_?!" Someone said behind them.

Seto turned around and glared at the merry band of fools. All of them were there; Yugi, Jounouchi, Shizuka, Mai, Otogi, Ryou and Honda.

Anzu whirled around and paled at the sight of her friends. Shit! What were they doing at the movies?

"Umm…Hi, guys!" Anzu said, sounding too cheerful, even to her own ears.

"Anzu, I thought you have to stay home tonight?" Yugi asked.

"Yes… well… I… Um…"

"You ditched us for Kaiba?" Jounouchi accused.

"Yeah, Anzu, quite the little secret you've been hiding." Mai said, smiling mischievously.

"No! You guys it's-" How could she explain? She had lied to them, but it had been for

Mokuba! She felt horribly guilty about the whole ordeal. "I'm sorry, you guys, but Mokuba wanted me to come and I couldn't say no."

"I see how it is." Jounouchi said and headed into the theater with Mai. "See ya, kid." He said referring to the puzzled Mokuba.

"Jounouchi!" Anzu called out.

Seto, bored with the little scene, started walking toward his car, taking Mokuba with him. "Bye guys!" Mokuba said, waving goodbye to the group who waved back reluctantly at him.

"Coming, Anzu?" Seto called as he got into his car, purposely using her first name to further rattle her little friends.

"You're going with him?" Bakura asked, his eyes full of hurt.

"Guys, it's really not a big deal. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?" She said and headed toward the car.

The group watched the car until it disappeared into the traffic. "Well, they do make a cute couple… " Shizuku commented as they joined Jounouchi inside the theater.

All looked at her in disbelief. "They do!" She defended.

"I doubt that's the case. Anzu said she came because of Mokuba." Yugi tried to convince the others although he had his own doubts. Still, if Anzu had chosen Kaiba, he'd be there for her.

"Then why would she lie to us? We would have understood, it's obvious she didn't want us to know." Jounouchi said, anger evident in his voice.

Yugi couldn't argue with that.

Anzu, feeling guiltier than ever, sat hunched down on her seat. Her ice-cream sundae was untouched and melting rapidly. She stared at it moodily.

"Worried about your little friends?" Kaiba asked between bites of his chocolate ice cream cake.

"I lied to them."

"So?"

"So? They're my friends!"

"They've never lied to you?"

"No! Umm… I don't…"

"I thought you trusted them?"

"I do."

"But you doubt they've never lied to you."

Anzu stared at him, clearly upset with him and the direction the conversation was taking. "What would you know about having friends, anyway?" Kaiba didn't even blink.

"Who needs them? So I'll have to ask permission like you? Besides, having to rely on someone else is pure foolishness. The only one you can trust is yourself."

"How about your brother? He shouldn't trust in you?"

"That's different."

"Sure it is," Anzu said skeptically. "I don't see anything bad on relying on somebody else, it shows trust, real friendship."

"You wouldn't. After all you're useless except to cheer on your friends. Tell me, Mazaki, have you done _anything_ at all that your friends didn't help you with?" he asked contemptuously.

"You're such a damn jerk, Kaiba." She said; her anger covering the hurt that his words had caused. She knew she didn't duel, or offer any thing other than her presence to her friends but she'd never considered herself useless. She was always there for them, always; she was not useless.

Mokuba picked that exact moment to come back to his seat with his second banana split. He stared at the two glaring older teens. "Guys?"

Slowly, Anzu turned to face him and gave him a forced smile. Mokuba frowned at his brother who went back to his dessert. Something had happened, he was sure of it.

They finished their ice cream in an awkward silence, the mood completely different from when they had exited the theater. Anzu wished her friends hadn't gone to the theaters that day. Or that she wasn't a sucker for cute little faces like Mokuba's.

"What did you do to Anzu?" Mokuba asked as he saw Anzu enter her home.

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Stay out of it."

"Why are you so mean to her?" Mokuba scolded his older brother.

The question took him by surprise, "I don't know." He said sincerely._ 'Probably because she's friends with Yugi and the mongrel_,' he reasoned.

"Apologize to her."

Kaiba snorted.

"Apologize to her or I'll be mad at you forever."

Seto glanced at his brother's set shoulders and deep frown; Mokuba was serious.

"I am not going to apologize." Seto said through clenched teeth.

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

* * *

Ice cream sundaes for everyone that reviews! 


	7. Chapter Seven

Thanks to my reviewers: CWolf2, Suheil373, KaibaGurl47, White Moon Universe Guide, Silver Mist4, Mamono, Keikogurl, Yukito, HieilovesBotan, Genki No Yuuki, Marin M, Moonkid3734, Tombmistress, Svelte Rose, Serenity Komoshiro, Klacb, Kikoken, Mezu, Noble Paladin, Destiny 1029, Vaz12o1 and Demona, Quinn, Lunar Dragon 209, Sehgun, Laday Trickster. You guys rock!

Thanks Mamono, you are a lifesaver!

* * *

In For Penny…

Chapter Seven

Seto prepared himself to do something he'd never done before. He was going to apologize. To his point of view, he had nothing to apologize for, he'd only told the truth to that whiny brat. Sadly, though, his brother had taken a liking to said whiny brat and refused to talk to him until he apologized for making her sad.

Three days, he'd lasted three days against his brother's silent treatment. It irked him that Mazaki was responsible for that; he'd had fights with his brother before, but Mokuba had never stopped talking to him for three days! Even worse than that, Mokuba wanted Mazaki to visit more often, even after the project was finished. Seto didn't know how he would survive if Mazaki actually agreed, although he was sure she wouldn't. But he would try, if it meant making his brother happy, he would try.

She entered the class with her back straight and her nose in the air. '_Annoying twit_,' was his first thought when he saw her. She didn't even glance at him on her way to her seat. She'd avoided him like the plague at lunch and in between classes; she'd chatter around with her friends, pretending he didn't exist. However, when it was impossible not look at him and their eyes met, she'd shoot him a fiery glare that would send a lesser man running for his life. He had always wondered at her uncanny power of controlling her friends when she wanted to. Those poor fools didn't stand a chance against that glare.

He didn't care for that glare. He wasn't one of her little friends and he could care less about her approval. But he'd promise Mokuba that he would apologize to her. He would approached her after class, the excuse would be to set up the time for their next meeting, and then he would do it. He'd gone over it many times in his mind, that seemed the best possible way; there was no way in hell he was going to apologize in front of her friends. In truth they really needed to set up a time for their meeting so it wasn't so much an excuse but a reason to talk to her.

The teacher droned on and on what seemed like forever to the impatient Kaiba. He wanted to apologize and then forget about the apology as soon as possible. The things he would do for his brother!

"Remember that you're projects are due next week. Good luck." Finally, class was over.

As the students scattered out, Seto sat still, knowing that Anzu had to pass by his desk to get to the door.

"Mazaki," He called out.

She passed him by without acknowledgement.

"Mazaki," she didn't break her stride.

'Damn woman!'

"When are you coming to finish the project?" He asked hoping to deter her; she only quickened her pace.

It was now or never. "I'm sorry." It came out as growl.

Anzu turned around slowly, hands on her hips and brow arched. "For?"

'For what?'

Mokuba hadn't specified what Seto had to be sorry for. At a loss, he did what came most naturally to him; he scowled at her. He'd apologized, wasn't that enough. Did she really need to know what for?

"For hurting your feelings," Kaiba was nothing, if not quick on his feet.

Anzu gave him a blinding smile that gave him an odd feeling in his stomach. "Did that hurt?"

Seto arched a brow waiting for her to elaborate.

"Apologizing, it must have been painful for you," she giggled, "but I forgive you, only because I know how horrible this was for you. Say hi to your brother for me. Oh, and I'll be at your house tomorrow to finish the project. Bye." She finished as she exited the classroom.

'_That hadn't gone all that bad,'_ he thought as he let his head hit his desk with a loud thump.

* * *

"You know you can tell me anything, right, Anzu?" Yugi asked her as they walked home. 

"Yes, Yugi, and I've already told you and the others that there's nothing between me and Kaiba," Anzu said exasperated.

"Didn't look like that on Friday or today after your class."

"I already explained Friday night, as for today, we were just talking about the project."

Yugi gave her a dubious glance from the corner of his eyes. "If, and I'm saying if there _is _something going on between you two, then we would all be okay with it. Jounouchi would come around, you know."

As much as the conversation was grating on her nerves for it's utter lack of reality, Anzu was glad to have such nice friends. Although, having a former crush (or the other personality of her crush), tell her that it was okay to get it on with his former enemy, wasn't much of an ego booster. Sure, she felt nothing for the spirit any more, but having her fears confirmed about Yami never having any feelings for her, just plain sucked.

"Thanks, Yugi, but believe me, there is nothing and there will never be anything between me and Kaiba except dislike."

Again, Yugi gave her a glance, this one full of knowing that had Anzu's skin prickling in response.

* * *

"Did you apologize?" was the first thing Mokuba said when Seto arrived at his home.

"Yes."

His brother's response was automatic and immediate; he launched himself into his brother's arms.

He missed it, Mokuba's exuberance and incomprehensible need for touch. He didn't think he ever would. There were times when he'd been annoyed at Mokuba's unrestrained shows of affection, felt overwhelmed when he couldn't return the feelings, not the way Mokuba wanted or needed. Never again. He hugged his brother tighter and cursed Anzu for making Mokuba mad him. She was such a pain in the ass, why did Mokuba like her so much?

"Did she agree on coming to visit? Really visit?"

"I think it would be better if you ask her."

"You're right, she doesn't like you very much," Mokuba stated.

"She doesn't like me at all and the feeling is returned in full."

"She thinks I'm adorable, that's what she told me," Mokuba said grinning.

"Which just proves how insane she is."

"Hey!" Mokuba shook a fist at him, showing how offended he was by his comment but ended up laughing instead as Seto tickled him furiously.

"I'm sorry , Seto," Mokuba said, once Seto stopped tickling him, "for being mean to you this weekend. But Anzu was really sad and I was afraid she wouldn't come back. I like her." He said blushing.

"I'll try to be nicer," he assured his brother, although he was sure that the effort would just about kill him.

"You don't have to be nice to her, just don't be mean."

* * *

She wasn't mad at him anymore, Seto thought the next day after school. She'd given him one of her little smiles. She'd started doing in that ever since they started working on the project. It was infinitely better than glares and more suited to his purpose. 

He walked purposely toward her, only the mutt and Yugi where with her. Jounouchi moved closer to her, placing a hand on her waist, making Kaiba want to strangle him.

Anzu, feeling that it was her that Kaiba needed to talk to, said goodbye to her friends and stepped towards him. Jounouchi had a definite pout on his face that soothed some of Seto's earlier feelings of homicide.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello. I, um," He cleared his throat, "As you know, Mokuba really likes you. Today he's going to ask you to visit whenever you want. For his sake, I'm asking you to please do."

"All right."

"'I'll be busy working-"

"I said okay, " Anzu said, a tiny understanding smile on her face. She had been planning to visit Mokuba anyway.

"Oh," '_That was quick,'_ he thought. He had expected her to put up a fight, argue excessively until he would have to offer to pay her. It was a surprise she'd agree so quickly and without any form of compensation.

"Your brother is adorable." '_And in need of company'._

"Thank you, " he said, for some reason oddly pleased at her compliment and at her...

"You're welcome. I have to get going now. I'll see you in the afternoon."

"Okay."

It must have been hard, Anzu thought as she walked away, for him to come up to her like that. It showed how much he cared for his brother to ask someone he obviously didn't like to go visiting at his house. She felt newfound respect for him blooming inside her. He could be an arrogant prick, a jerk, but he was a loving one, if that made sense at all. She imagined if anyone else managed to worm themselves into his heart, then they would be as fiercely protected and loved by him as was Mokuba.

Anzu had gone no further than a block when Seto's shiny new car pulled over next to her. "Get in the car, Mazaki. I'll drive you home."

For the first time Anzu could remember, she wasn't upset by Kaiba's arrogant tone. She quickly walked over to the passenger side and got in. "Thanks."

They arrived at her house fairly quickly since it was close to the school. Seto had remained quiet throughout the drive, but it had been a comfortable drive nonetheless. Anzu had the urged to hug him. So she did, fully aware of what she was doing, unlike the last time when she had kissed him without thinking.

She reached over to him and hugged him, laying her head on his chest, ignoring the way he stiffened. "You're a good brother." She said.

Unembarrassed, she climbed out of the car, smiling softly at Kaiba's stiffened posture. If that was all it took to rattle Seto Kaiba, she would have done it sooner.

He recovered quickly and drove home, the odd feeling in his stomach accompanied him the whole way. Maybe it had been something he ate…

* * *

Um… cookies? 


	8. Chapter Eight

Thanks to: Lady Triskter, Lunar Dragon 209, Vaz1201 and Demona, Serenity Komoshiro, Hieilovesbotan, Azurite, Jarjayes, Ia, Kikoken, Marin M, Genius Girl; the original, Silver Mist4, FireDemonKitsune84, Noble Paladin, Seguha, Ma-au, Anime-AngelWings, Laurie the cat, Millennium Sorceress, Sm-Candy, Keikugurl, LuvinAnime.

Thanks to Mamono for beta reading.

* * *

In for A Penny…

Chapter Eight

Anzu was standing at the corner next to her locker, talking to Jounouchi. They waved merrily when they noticed him in the hallway. Jounouchi said goodbye as soon as he reached them. Anzu gave him a wide smile and they headed toward their class.

"Hey, Ryou. Ready for the test?" She asked him; her smile was all it took for Ryou to gain the courage to ask his long time crush out on a date.

"Umm… not really."

"Spent the day dueling, right?" Anzu laughed.

"Well, yes. I beat Honda," Ryou said proudly.

"Too bad you won't do so well on the test."

"Don't remind me," he said wincing. "Anzu?"

"Hmm?"

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead," Anzu said worriedly, sensing his uncomfortable manner.

"I was wondering if, um," Ryou looked at her reassuring face," you wanted to go out sometime… on a date. With me." He finished lamely, cursing himself for asking her out so clumsily. The least he could have done was get her flowers for his awful fumbling. He knew, from the look on her face, that she would not agree. He read the apology in her face before she said anything.

He was so cute, so honest, and so nice that Anzu wished that she really could like him. The image of a certain blue-eyed brown haired boy popped into Anzu's mind; she furiously swatted it away, not wanting to think of why she was thinking of him, especially at that particular moment.

"Ryou, I-"

"It's okay, Anzu. I understand," he said with a self-depreciating smile.

At his crestfallen expression, Anzu reached out and hugged him while whispering that she was so very sorry. She didn't know what to say; she knew anything to make him feel better was impossible.

Seto watched the scene before him with distaste. Anzu and her pitiful boyfriend hugging like idiots in the middle of the hall. How utterly pathetic. He turned away before they started kissing or doing something else he'd rather not see. Weren't there rules about such behavior in the school? He hoped so; he'd happily go to the principal himself. He spent the rest of the day in the foulest of moods.

"We're finally done!" Anzu exclaimed happily, once she finished typing the last line of the written project. Kaiba only responded with a glare. She didn't know what was wrong with him today; he'd been horribly rude and hostile. True, he was almost always rude and hostile, but she had gotten used to him being somewhat decent to her. During school that day, Anzu could swear he had actually snarled at her when she had said 'hi' to him. Snarled!

"Well, I guess I'll be going now," Anzu said awkwardly at his silence.

He shot her another glare while he took some papers out of his briefcase. "I'll expect you some time this week. Mokuba is looking forward to spending some time with you," he said when he noticed Anzu wasn't moving from her spot at the desk.

Anzu tried not be insulted at his demanding tone and attributed his horrid mood to how worn out he looked. She nodded and left him alone so he could brood properly.

She was thankful that her mother had let her take the car; she felt awfully uncomfortable asking Ryou to give her a ride and all the other guys weren't able to.

"You're leaving already, Anzu?" Mokuba asked as she headed toward the door.

"Yeah, I have to go home."

"Will you be back this week?"

Once again, Anzu found herself unable to say no to Mokuba's pleading eyes. If she didn't know better she would think that he did it on purpose to get what he wanted. "I'll try to. Bye, Mokuba."

"See ya this week!"

After Anzu left, Mokuba went to see his brother. He probably started working already; Mokuba figured he could use a small break. He barged into the library where, as expected, Seto was diligently working. "You guys finished?"

"Yes."

"Finally! Now when Anzu comes it'll be just for us."

'Just for you', Seto thought but refrained from commenting.

"Maybe we can go to the movies again!" Mokuba rumbled on.

"If you want."

"It'll be like a tradition, just the three of us!"

"I'm not going to the movies with you, Mokuba. I don't want to spend more time with her than necessary. "

"Aw, Seto, you have to! It has to be like last time. We'll go out for ice cream after the movie. Please, come with us," Mokuba asked with imploring eyes.

Seto was also defenseless against his brother's pleads. He sighed and remembered that he was supposed to try to get along with the twit for his brother's sake. Besides, Anzu was sure to decline the invitation of going to the movies with them again, so she would be the one to look bad in front of Mokuba. Maybe that way Mokuba's infatuation with her would finally come to an end. He couldn't stand her!

His brother, however, thought she was damn near perfect. She was just a silly little girl with bad taste in boyfriends to him. One that he didn't have the slightest interest in seeing again at all. None whatsoever. Absolutely none. He had more important things to do, like the merger he was currently organizing with another company.

* * *

Anzu had told her friends she was spending the day with the Kaiba brothers. Everyone was surprised but they all took it well except for Jounouchi. She didn't get him; he should just get over his dislike for the 'rich boy' as Jounouchi liked to call him. Kaiba liked to tease him and Jounouchi always, always, took the bait. She was sure Kaiba only did it because it infuriated the 'mutt' so much. If only Jounouchi would stop letting his anger get the best of him and Kaiba would learn to be nice.

Kaiba, though, wasn't as bad as that. Sure, he wasn't the peppiest of people, he was just very serious. However, Anzu couldn't deny his horrible temper. He was still in that dreadful mood of his. For the past days he'd been the terror of the school. He'd walked around with a scowl that could be seen miles away. Poor Ryou had been one of his many victims. Ryou bumped into him in the hall and Kaiba proceeded to chastise him in front of everyone. Kaiba looked like he was about to loose control of his emotions; a rare occurrence from the normally rigidly composed CEO. Everybody pretty much avoided him after that.

Anzu knew something was bothering him, he was never _that_ much of a prick. She had gotten to know him better during their time together to believe he was the monster or spoiled brat people made him out to be. He looked horrible, so Anzu, again, attributed his bad mood from weariness. He was, after all, going to school and working full time.

Mokuba opened the door before she even knocked. "Come on in, Anzu," he said, giving her a brief hug.

"Where's your brother?" Anzu asked.

"Working, as always," he said, sighing.

"He has been working a lot lately, huh?"

"Yeah, he's spent all this week locked up in his office."

"How about you? You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he said with an infectious smile. "My brother will come up in a short while, you'll see. Then we can ambush him and take him to the movies with us. Deal?"

"Sure," Anzu said, laughing at Mokuba's little plan. Kaiba did need a break from work.

Giggles, he heard giggles coming from the parlor. It disrupted his work, mainly Anzu's insanely happy giggles. He stood up, ready to yell at Anzu for distracting him again. The twit was dead set on making his life hell; first she became his partner, second she made friends with his brother, thirdly she was a friend of Yugi's and lastly was girlfriend to Ryou. He wasn't sure how the last one factored in making his life hell, but it pissed him off anyway.

A body collided into his as soon as he entered the parlor propelling him onto the floor. It was Mazaki.

"Get off."

His brother was laughing his head off.

"Um, déja vu," Anzu said laughing, too happy to notice Kaiba's scowl. Still beneath Anzu, Kaiba noticed the strewn around pillows from the sofas. A pillow fight?

"When are you going to start acting your age, Mazaki?"

"When are you going to act yours?" Anzu responded, getting up and smacking a very surprised Kaiba on the face with a fluffy pillow.

He heard laugher from his brother and Anzu. Kaiba, too shocked at the girl's audacity, remained on the floor. Regaining his wits, Kaiba got to his feet and gave Anzu what he thought was his most fearsome glare. She laughed harder.

"You should have seen your face," Anzu got out before collapsing with giggles once again.

"Glad you're done with your work, Seto. Get ready now cause we're taking you to the movies."

"We?" Seto asked, trying to get back his dignity.

"Yup, so get ready. I'm not taking you anywhere with your school uniform on."

"Hurry up, Seto, the movie starts in thirty minutes," Mokuba said happily.

Kaiba stared at both of them; each had a mischievous smile on their face. "Fine." He turned and headed toward his office.

Anzu and Mokuba started laughing hysterically again. They laughed even more when two flying pillows hit them from the direction that Seto had gone.

They arrived at the theater just in time. Anzu offered to drive them since she had her mother's car again; Seto refused. He had some serious control issues. Anzu settled for buying some treats for Mokuba. She bought Kaiba a lollipop to alleviate his ghastly mood. It didn't help.

"Come on, Kaiba, loosen up. We're here for your brother," Anzu said as they waited for Mokuba to come out from the bathroom.

"I thought you said I was a good brother," he mocked, throwing her words back at her.

"You are," she said, "I was just asking you to loosen up so your brother will enjoy himself."

"He will because you're here."

"And you're mad because I am here," she concluded. "Why do you dislike me so much?" She asked, a bit of hurt shinning from her eyes. After almost a month of spending time together he still couldn't tolerate her. The thought hurt her more than it should have.

I don't know.

"It doesn't matter if I like you or not. Mokuba is the only one you should concern yourself with."

"Of course." She knew Mokuba needed attention but that didn't stop her from wanting Kaiba to like her… just a little.

"Your friends better not show up here to cause a scene like last time."

"They didn't cause a scene," Anzu defended her friends. "They're all hanging at Mai's place tonight."

"Good. It's a wonder you were able to detach yourself from your boyfriend today." He said, his voice laced with obvious contempt.

"Yugi is not my boyfriend," Anzu responded, thinking to his previous assumptions that Yugi was her boyfriend.

"I was referring to your _current_ boyfriend. Ryou is it?"

"He isn't my boyfriend either. None of my friends are. Where are you getting your info?" Anzu asked, irritated beyond belief that rumors of her dating at least one of her male friends had reached even the antisocial Kaiba. Really, couldn't a girl have guy friends without people thinking she was something else to them? There was nothing that irritated her more than that… well maybe Kaiba.

"Come on guys, let's go," Mokuba said coming out from the restroom. Both older teens followed the young child. As before, he picked the movie and Anzu ended up in between them once again. Seto felt the bad mood that have been plaguing him throughout the week evaporate for some unknown reason and he relaxed into his seat.

Thirty minutes into the movie, while the evil aliens were slaughtering the innocent humans, Anzu felt a heavy weight settle in her shoulder.

It was Kaiba's head.

It was lying on her shoulder.

It was sleeping.

It was slipping dangerously down toward her breasts.

She shifted his head toward his own seat. Minutes later, however, his head came back as did his arm which he settled across her waist. She moved his hand, but she let him rest his head on her shoulder. He was tired, she didn't want to wake him. And just out of pure curiosity she ran one of her hands through his hair; it was as silky as it looked. He moved higher, her breathing hitched when she felt his so very close to her throat.

She remained still as not to alert Mokuba. The sensation of having Kaiba's head on her shoulder was not all unpleasant, just a bit weird. He smelled wonderful, she thought, and wondered what cologne he used. It suited him perfectly. She ran a hand through his hair for the last time and tried to focus on the movie. A smile formed on her face when she realized that Seto Kaiba, The Seto Kaiba, was asleep on her shoulder.

"Seto, wake up."

The words barely registered on his sleep-muddled brain.

"The movie is almost finished."

What movie?

Blearily he realized that his head was lying on something soft. He burrowed his head deeper into his pillow.

"Eek!"

He came to his senses rapidly after he heard Anzu's startled yelp. He shot up from his seat, nipping Anzu's chin slightly with his head.

Aw, shit! I was not using Mazaki as a pillow.

"Have a nice nap?" Anzu asked, a bit nervously, but playful nonetheless.

The best.

His eyes widened at the thought, and he blushed furiously. He was thankful that the theater was still dark.

"It's all right, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You were tired and it just caught up with you." She tried to put him at ease.

"I'm not embarrassed."

Anzu didn't believe him but let the subject drop. She'd tease him about it later. Oh, how she would enjoy teasing him. She cackled evilly in her mind.

"That was sooo good!" Mokuba said as the credits rolled in on the screen.

"Uh huh, now it's time for ice-cream. What do you say Mokuba?"

"Great!"

"Are you feeling up to it, Seto, or are you too tired?" She smiled prettily at him.

"I'm fine."

When the hell did she start calling me Seto?

"Just making sure you won't just fall asleep on me."

"I bet you think you're funny," Seto said dryly.

"I know I am."

Mokuba stared at his brother and Anzu. He scratched the back of his head in a puzzled manner. Grown ups, who understood them?

* * *

After tucking in his brother, he went to his office and started working on some documents. As he did so he reflected on the night's event. He still flushed at the thought of falling asleep during the movie and his head ending up on Anzu's shoulder. Still, the girl was somewhat tolerable when she had her mouth shut, and she cared for his brother, which was a plus. What the hell am I thinking, he thought; the girl is a complete brat; he fished around in his coat pocket for the lollipop she had bought him.

He stared at the cherry flavor candy steadily as if looking for answers. She had surprised him when she had placed the damn lollipop on his hand. Her hand was tiny and very soft; he felt it as their hands touched briefly. She was all smiles too, giggling even, trying to cheer him up. He placed the lollipop in one of the desk's drawers for safekeeping.

No one had ever given him anything. No one except for Mokuba. He ignored the pang in his chest and continued working through the night

* * *

Cookies and Milk and… ice cream! J


	9. Chapter Nine

Thanks to: Vaz1201 and Demona, Silver Mist 4, HieilovesBotan, Mamono, Myrioku, Marin M, Azurite, Oruha, Lita Maxwell, CWolf2, Noble Paladin, GeniusGirl; The original, MangaChick, Keikogirl, Mokuba's offical Glomper, LuvinAnime, Imortalbreath37, Kikoken, Sm-Candy, Telulu Hunter, Symmentha. You guys rock, thanks for the awesome reviews.

Once again, thanks Mamono for all your help.

* * *

The giggles, laughter, and soft murmuring coming from the parlor no longer bothered Kaiba. He'd learned to tolerate it after a month of it. Truth be told, he even enjoyed it somewhat; the soft voices accompanied him while he worked and often calmed his temper and nerves. It was… soothing in a way to hear his brother having fun. His loud chortles ringing out all the way to his office, followed by Mazaki's soft laughter.

He'd long ago admitted to himself that he was a bit jealous of Mazaki's easy relationship with his brother. It's was stupid really, feeling sorry for himself because he was no longer the center of his brother's universe. Everything he heard from him was, 'Anzu this' and 'Anzu that'. It was really irritating. Couldn't his brother find a friend that he actually liked? Kaiba couldn't think of anyone who he actually liked, so the point was moot anyway. He preferred her to Yugi or, heaven forbid, the mutt.

Slowly and grudgingly, Seto acknowledged that Anzu wasn't half-bad. She was still annoying as hell, but she was good to his brother, and it helped that she wasn't the air-head he had thought her to be. She was tolerable… most of the time.

He looked at the clock; it read 7:50. She would be coming soon, as she had for the last month, and badger him to stop working. She would bang at the door; he would pointedly ignore her at first, but soon her heavy knocking would be followed by Mokuba's energetic pounding. He remembered the first time they'd done it; he'd opened the door, enraged at having been interrupted and found them with mischief in their eyes and a smile on their faces. He soon gave in, proving to be too weak to resist his brother's pout and Mazaki's endless teasing about working too much and falling asleep in inappropriate places.

She delighted in torturing him about the night on the movies when he fell asleep. Kaiba never disappointed her, as he always flushed when she mentioned it; a fact that made her burst into uncontrollable giggles and a strong sense of pride at being able to make the stoic Kaiba color in embarrassment. Seto didn't find it as amusing.

He started putting his things away, carefully placing every item he has used for his work in his rightful place. It was 7:55 and the demonic duo, as he'd come to call Anzu and Mokuba, were always promptly knocking at his door at eight. As soon as they'd marched him out of his office, they'd shove food at his face and make him eat every single bite and then told him to rest. Kaiba, however, never wasted time. He did the homework that he would normally have done very late at night or very early in the morning.

The three would stay in the parlor doing their homework quietly, with only a giggle or snigger breaking the silence once in a while. Kaiba always took the largest sofa, which he used to prop up his legs, Mokuba rested on the carpeted floor, and Anzu laid across from them on the opposite sofa. Mokuba had never felt more at ease and content. Something that his older brother was only too aware of. Kaiba only hoped that Mazaki wouldn't let him down.

The knocks were right on time. He shut down his computer and put on his 'I'm pissed because you interrupted my work' face and opened the door. If he were honest with himself, which he wasn't, he would realize that he actually enjoyed the little interludes, even looked forward to them.

Uncaring about his frowning expression, Mokuba took him by the hand and led him to the parlor, where the center table was already piled up with food. Seto felt his stomach growling in response. He hadn't realized that he was that hungry. He helped himself as Anzu made herself comfortable and Mokuba sat down on the floor and started doing his homework.

For some time now, Seto had found himself watching Mazaki; it was unnerving the way his eyes just seemed to focus on her form. She was currently chewing her bottom lip while she stared at her math book with a look of heavy confusion and frustration. She started banging her head against her text.

"Problem?" Kaiba asked, mildly amused at her show of unusual temper, as he finished the last of his dinner. Mokuba sniggered softly watching her.

She mumbled incoherently as she laid her head dejectedly on her book. She was just not getting the problem; it was an impossible problem, unsolvable!

"Help me," she said miserably, while giving him a pout that, he was sure, she stole from Mokuba.

"Let's see it, Mazaki," he said sighing; his reputation would go down the drain if anyone found out he couldn't stand a pout. Or puppy eyes.

She walked quickly to his sofa and sat down next to him, too aware of the closeness between them. She pointed to the problem and he explained it in terse, quick clear sentences. She was surprised when she actually got it

"Thanks, Seto." It still threw him off balance when she called him by his first name.

Anzu watched him as he stretched out on the sofa, placing his long legs on the armrest. He sighed softly as he started reading from a textbook. She liked to see him like that, lounging in jeans and a tee shirt, relaxed and rested. She got a thrill out of knowing that not many people ever saw him like that.

His face suddenly turned to look at her; he had the unnatural skill to catch her every single time she was looking at him. Not that she looked at him often of course. She blushed and brought her gaze down to her own book.

The rest of the time was uneventful, until Mokuba's yawn made them aware of the time. It was later than usual.

"Take me home, Seto?" Mazaki asked, after Seto hand sent Mokuba to sleep. The little chit, to Kaiba's point of view, had gotten way too friendly with him. For some reason, though, Kaiba couldn't summon enough indignity to feel offended.

"Let me get my keys."

The drive, as always, was devoid of any small talk, but was still comfortable. Once they got to her house, she hugged him goodbye, as was her habit whenever he gave her a ride. He didn't stiffen anymore, just stayed still, never returning her hug. She didn't seem to mind.

He had gotten used to it and tolerated it because he understood she had the same nature as his brother, needing to display their feelings. And what if he enjoyed her scent, the feel of her cheek against his, her breasts pressing against his chest? It was nothing.

* * *

The merger was almost complete; the only thing needed to finalize it was for him to travel to New York. He hated to leave Mokuba, as the proceedings would take about a week, but he couldn't take him along. He wanted Mokuba to have a normal childhood, which was one of the reasons he refused to have tutors for him. It wouldn't be right, either, to take him out of school for a few days. He knew Mokuba always resented him for not taking him along.

Seto sighed, dreading the time he would spend away from his brother and in the company of boring, brown-nosing associates. He grabbed the suitcases and headed out.

Mokuba was waiting for him at the door, he was teary- eyed but unwilling to cry.

"I'll be back in less than a week, I'll call you everyday, and Ms. Morita will be here to take care of you."

"I don't need a babysitter." Mokuba's sense of independence had started to assert itself.

"I'm not going to leave you alone," Seto said, having had this conversation before.

"Anzu is going to come."

"I know, but she can't be here all the time,"

"Then take me with you."

"We've been through this before, Mokuba."

"I know," Mokuba said looking down, "have you said goodbye to Anzu?"

"Why would I need to?"

"Because she's your friend," Mokuba said matter-of-factly.

"She's _your _friend."

"She's _our_ friend and I think you should say goodbye to her."

"I see no point in doing so," he said tersely. "I have to go, Mokuba. See you around kiddo." He leaned down to ruffle the boy's hair.

"Come back soon," Mokuba said as he watched his brother leave.

Hours later, Anzu showed up, carrying a large paper bag.

"Hey, Mokuba, I brought an ice-cream cake. Tell your brother to get his butt down here. I know what a sweet tooth he has; he can't hide it from me anymore," Anzu said happily as she plopped down on the sofa and took out the cake and utensils from the bag. "Tell him, it's chocolate, his favorite and it's melting."

"Um, Anzu, Seto's gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" she said as she dug in.

"To New York." Mokuba had thought that at least Seto had told her he was leaving. But judging from her puzzled expression, he guessed that Seto had not.

"Oh, well, then there's more cake for us." She said smiling but the smile didn't reach her eyes. His brother was such a dummy sometimes, Mokuba thought.

Anzu didn't know why she was so sad. She knew that Seto still didn't think of her as a friend, but she hoped he had softened toward her a little bit. They saw each other almost twice a week after school; was it too much to ask for single word of goodbye? From Seto, Anzu thought ruefully, yes. He probably still thought her a nuisance that he had to put up with because of his brother.

She cringed, thinking of all the times that she had hugged him and teased him and many other instances where he more than likely dreaded her stupid advances of friendship. He always had, but now he had to put up with her because of Mokuba. Of course, he wouldn't tell her he was leaving or say goodbye.

It still hurt more than it should; the thought that she meant so little to him that he wouldn't even spare her single word of goodbye.

* * *

The merger had gone well, enabling him to return home sooner than expected. He heard the laugher and thought it was good to be home. Maybe he would take them somewhere to celebrate…

"You're back!" Mokuba exclaimed as he jumped into his arms. "I missed you."

"Missed you too," He said as he nodded at Anzu, who was smiling softly at the brotherly reunion.

She missed the big stupid arrogant jerk, Anzu realized as she watched him with his brother. He was all traveled rumpled, and sleepy-eyed. He looked amazingly cute.

"Welcome home," she said from her seat. Anzu wanted to hug him, she really, really did. She refrained from doing so, not wanting to be an obnoxious bother to him.

He had expected her affectionate nature to get the best of her and hug him. Or at least look happier; those big expressive eyes of her to brightening as she smiled widely at him. He'd been wrong; she looked uncomfortable.

"I'll wash up and then we can go to dinner," Seto said as he climbed the stairs to his room.

"Oh, well, I have to get going now, " Anzu said, getting up from her seat.

"You can't go now, you just here and Seto is taking us out to dinner," Mokuba said, hoping she would stay.

"I don't want to intrude. You and your brother need to catch up. Tell him I said goodbye."

Meanwhile as Seto cleaned up, he remembered the carefully wrapped gift in his suitcase. He exited the bathroom and took it out. He always brought presents for his brother; sometimes it was nothing more than candy or pictures but his brother loved them; it made him feel like he had gone along with Seto.

This time though, the gift wasn't for Mokuba. It had been, as people called it, an impulse buy. He'd seen the silver necklace in an antique store window as he walked by. It had caught his eye and instantly reminded him of the damn twit. He didn't want to analyze why. He'd bought it; the clerk had even wrapped it in a cheerful pink and white paper, while wishing him good luck with his sweetheart.

It would suit her perfectly; he could imagine how the amethyst pendant would lighten her eyes, the heart-shaped stone would lie gently between her breasts…

He shook his head forcefully, willing the image away. Now, that he had it, he wasn't sure he wanted to give it to her, but at the same time wanted her have it, wear it. All the time.

He would have Mokuba give it to her, as a 'thank you' gift. That would be perfect. He grabbed his trench coat and headed downstairs.

"Ready to go?" Seto asked, entering the parlor.

"Yeah. Anzu can't come."

"Why not?" Seto asked baffled, looking around for traces of her.

Mokuba shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine, it's better this way anyway. I can't stand her," he said huffily as he took his brother by the hand and led him out

"Uh huh," Mokuba said dubiously while rolling his eyes.

"What?"

"Jeez, Seto! Aren't you supposed to be a genius? I love you an all but sometimes you're… not very smart."

"Excuse me?"

"You like her."

" I do not, " Seto said, shaking his head. The idea was preposterous!

"You make googly eyes at her when you think she's not looking."

"I do not make googly-"

"She makes them too. It's so funny watching you two.

She does?

"I don't like her and she doesn't like me." Seto assured his brother.

"Sure," his brother drawled in a very Seto-like manner.

* * *

Googly eyes?

She hadn't even looked at him the whole day. She hadn't even given him that smile that he had gotten so used to. His little brother had too much imagination.

She was acting strange though, normally she wouldn't ignore him. Even before the project she had smiled at him briefly. During the project her smiles had widened and she'd greet him cheerfully whenever she saw him. He, of course, had ignored her completely, only recently had he started to nod curtly at her.

He knew she wasn't mad at him like last time, because there were no glares coming his way. This time she seemed almost sad and hesitant to talk to him. It was unlike her.

It didn't concern him; he left as soon at the teacher dismissed them. He was on his way to his next class when her voice stopped him, "Seto, wait up."

He turned slowly and regarded her with a raised brow.

"I-"

"_I_ don't have all day, Mazaki."

She shot him a glare, which made Seto feel better, she really had the most expressive face. It was better for her to be pissed off than sad.

"I just wanted to tell you that if you find my presence at your home bothersome, then I'll try to limit my visits." There she said it, just the way she had rehearsed it.

"Mokuba will miss you," Seto said, feeling as if his heart was being squeezed painfully.

"I'll still see him. It's just that-" Anzu looked at him nervously," I don't want to impose on you."

"If you were, I'd tell you, Mazaki."

"Really?" Anzu asked, a smile forming at his unusual way of telling her she was welcomed at her home.

"Yes, and you're imposing on me now." With that he walked away.

He confused her; sometimes he would almost be friendly, as friendly as he could get, and sometimes he retreated behind the Kaiba mask. She'd feared that he couldn't stand her, that he was only civil to her because of Mokuba, but he'd just refuted that fear. And he'd left, without saying goodbye to her. Anzu wasn't going to forget that one soon.

Maybe he just didn't know that he was supposed to say goodbye to his friends as he didn't have any friends. Anzu sighed, they were friends; in their own way they were friends. After all, he had just told her that he didn't mind having her around. For some that would be nothing, but for Kaiba, it had been an amazing revelation. She smiled wishfully; Seto didn't dislike her.

"Anzu, don't tell me you're going with him again," Jounouchi complained as he approached her. Too many times in the past weeks he'd seen his best friend leave school with the conceited prick; she'd claimed it was to be with Mokuba but Jounouchi was starting to doubt her.

"Why does it bother you so much that I'm friends with Seto?"

Jounouchi's eyes went wide, "You call him _Seto_?" It was weird to hear Anzu to call him by his first name. It was freaky in the same way that it had been freaky to see Anzu walking alongside Mokuba at the movie theater with Kaiba following them.

"That's his name isn't it?" Anzu said calmly. Jounouchi and her had arguments about Seto before, he was just so pigheaded. She was getting annoyed at him.

"Yes, that's his name," Jounouchi said through clenched teeth. He was frustrated at his lack of success to make Anzu see what kind of person he was. She should know; they had encountered him plenty of times to know that he was a complete prick. "Anzu, you're a really sweet girl, I'm sure you think of him as a friend but he doesn't think of you like that. We both know what a cruel person he is."

"I know what kind of person he is. You don't."

"Anzu-"

"Don't say anything else, Jounouchi," Anzu took a deep breath to control her rising temper, "I've never once told you or made you feel bad about spending time with anybody, Mai comes to mind. I respect your decisions and trust your judgment. I would appreciated it if you would do the same for me."

Jounouchi watched as Anzu left him standing on the hallway. Her cheeks had been rosy, a sure sign that she was mad. He cursed Kaiba for causing a rift between Anzu and him. That bastard.

* * *

Ice cream cake for everyone!!! 


	10. Chapter Ten

__

Wow, thanks so much you guys: Symmentha, HieilovesBotan, Azurite, Suhei373, KaibaGurl47, Marin M, Genius girl; the Original, CWolf2, Snowflake, Anime-Angelwings, Noble Paladin, Lita Maxwell, Eve of Misery, Mokuba's official Glomper, Keikogurl, Anichan, Immortalbreath37, Thalia, Telulu Hunter, Mamono, Momo, Worrior of Peace. Thanks so much, everybody.

Mamono: You rock. Thanks for helping.

* * *

Seto Kaiba didn't know why he had felt so horribly forlorn when Mazaki told him would not be visiting his brother as much. He did know that he couldn't let her do that. It was an irrational fear, a desperate need for him to continue to see her. He had no idea where that had come from. If that wasn't enough, the weird fluttering in his stomach hadn't receded whenever she was near, actually it had only intensified. He had always noted that she wasn't bad looking, even with her ceaseless babbling she had been an eye-catcher. Seto mentally shook himself; there was something very wrong with him if he started thinking about _Mazaki_ in _that_ way_._

Dumbly, he realized that he had been gawking at Mazaki for at least five minutes, who was sitting with her idiotic friends across the cafeteria, and the retarded mutt had noticed and was now shooting an indignant glare his way. Kaiba shot one back; if he wanted to look at Mazaki, he damn well would. He watched as Anzu noticed the stare competition between him and the mutt. Kaiba gave him a satisfied smirk that had the mongrel bristling when Anzu scolded him, and Jounouchi had to retreat his gaze.

He continued to watch her discretely; she appeared to be mad at the mutt, her manner different from how she treated Yugi and Honda. Didn't she have any girl friends, Seto asked himself, as he saw Honda lean in to give her a quick hug. Must she always hang out with boys? That Ryou was making eyes at her. That poor fool, he looked like a lovesick puppy. Idiot boy.

Not that he cared or anything, he was just making some observations of his brother's friend. He didn't see Mazaki in that particular way. He ignored the voice in his head that told him the opposite. The only thing that Mazaki did to him was to drive him absolutely crazy.

She heard her laugher and thought, very much out of character, how pretty her laugh was. That girl was making him unbalanced. He was waxing poetic for goodness sake and he didn't even like her!

__

'Liar,' said a voice in his head that sounded remarkably like his brother.

'_Am not_,' he responded firmly.

'_Sureeeeee_,' the voice drawled.

'_Shut up_,' he told the voice angrily. Thankfully the voice quieted down.

Yep, Anzu Mazaki drove him absolutely insane. But she did justice to the ugly pink and blue uniform, he thought as he saw her rise from her seat. It looked much better on her than on any other girl in school. Her long legs made the skirt seem shorter and the shirt was tight across her…

She smiled at him as she passed him on the way to the exit. Had she always swung her hips in that manner? He felt his pants tightening at the sight

"Hey, Kaiba," the mutt's voice interrupted further delving into the question of Mazaki's swaying hips.

Kaiba looked bored as Jounouchi sat down in the opposite chair. He arched an eyebrow, waiting for Jounouchi to say something.

"Anzu's mad at me," he told the detached Kaiba.

"It's not my problem."

"She's mad at me because of you." Jounouchi expected him to look at least mildly surprised. Kaiba didn't even bat an eye, although his mind was whirling about what part he had played in the little drama. Well, if Anzu was pissed at the mutt, he'd happily do it again. "She seems to think that you're a decent person. It doesn't matter what we tell her, she still likes you for some reason. I just came to tell you that if you hurt her in any way I _will_ kill you. Understood?"

Kaiba had never seen the mutt so serious and in that moment he was more than a little alarmed at the boy's lack of emotion. He didn't for one-minute think that the mongrel was joking. "How touching, mutt. I always thought that Mazaki could take care of herself…"

"She can, but I would still love to bash your head in." He got up from his seat and shot him a disgusted glare. "And I don't appreciate you checking my friend out like that. Your eyes were popping out of their sockets."

Had he been that obvious? That damn brat, just look at what she made him do!

* * *

Mokuba had a job to do; he had to give Anzu the present his brother had bought for her. He grinned impishly at that; his brother never ever bought anything for anybody except for him. Seto's secretary always took care of matters like that; associate's birthdays, promotions and the like. He knew his brother liked Anzu, and she liked him back. They just didn't know it yet. Mokuba could already imagine what it would be like if Anzu became his brother's girlfriend. She'd be his sister and maybe one day…

"What are you thinking about with that smile on your face?" Anzu asked, flicking his nose gently.

"Nothing," he replied. "Hold on a second," he said as he dashed to his room. It was now or never, he thought, as he retrieved the present. Seto said that he shouldn't tell Anzu that it had been him that had bought it, but Mokuba had no intention of doing that.

"Look, Anzu, my brother got you a present from New York," he shoved the present in her face.

For a while, that sentence did not make sense to Anzu. She looked at Mokuba strangely, as if waiting for another head to sprout out.

"Open it!" Mokuba cheered on.

Carefully, she removed the paper, then opened the velvet box. "Oh," she said, once she saw the content inside it. "He really bought it for me?" Anzu still couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, he picked it out himself, not his secretary."

"Wow." It was beautiful. The gift warmed her heart; it proved that he had been thinking about her during his trip, maybe as much as she had thought of him. Maybe he had even missed her a little bit…

"You should say thank you," Mokuba advised.

"Yeah," Anzu said as she went to Kaiba's office.

The knocking came as a surprise as it was still an hour early. "Come in," he said curtly.

Anzu came in shyly, now unsure of how exactly she was going to thank him. "Hi."

"Is that why you interrupted my work? To say 'hi?'" he said irritably.

"Umm, no. I wanted to thank you for the necklace. It's very beautiful. Thanks." She smiled brilliantly at him. His stomach gave that awful flutter again.

__

Mokuba, I'm going to kill you.

"It's nothing," he grunted at her while going back to his computer.

"Would you put it on for me?" she asked, handing him the box.

He took it automatically, wanting to say something scathing but controlling himself. "Turn around," Seto said as he stood up from behind his desk.

His hands were shaking for some reason as he took out the necklace. Anzu grabbed her hair, taking it out of the way. His hands went around her and her knees turned to jelly. _Would it be bad if I leaned against him? _Before she came to a decision, Seto had clasped the necklace. Was it her imagination or had Seto brushed his hands against her neck a while longer than he should have?

"Let me see," Kaiba said in a strange tone of voice. Anzu turned around slowly, nervous, but not knowing why exactly.

It lay there, just as he predicted, between her breasts, barely grazing the low cut red shirt. Seto swallowed hard, and met Anzu's sparking eyes. "It suits you," was all he said.

"I love it," she said and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him softly on the lips. _Why is he so damn tall? _"Thank you." She left him to his work.

__

Maybe I won't kill Mokuba after all.

* * *

Anzu had worn the necklace everyday; not once since he had put it on for her had she removed it. It was such a precious gift that she didn't want to take if off for fear of losing it or misplacing it. Besides, she liked how Seto always checked if she was wearing his present. He was pleased, she knew, that she wore it. She could see it in his eyes every time he confirmed that he necklace was on. And to be completely honest she enjoyed his appreciative glances down her shirt. Anzu sniggered, the poor boy probably thought he was being discreet. It would surely hurt his feelings if she didn't wear it, so she wore all the time to preserve his tender feelings.

Anzu snorted at that, drawing attention from the other occupants of the dance studio locker rooms. She had finished perfecting her dance routine for the upcoming Friday performance and was done for the evening. When the directors had told her she would be performing, more than a month before, she had ran over to Yugi's game shop to tell the guys the good news. Everyone had been invited to come see her… except the Kaiba's.

It wasn't that she didn't want them there, quite the opposite, it was just that she knew she would feel uneasy if he was to watch her dancing. He asked her if she had done anything without the help of her friends, at the time she had been furious, but now she wanted to prove herself to him. She loved dancing and she knew, without being arrogant, that she was damn good at it.

Still, she was afraid that he would find her lacking, revert back to his hateful persona and mock her. She was being silly, she knew, but the fear was there. Every time she had tried to tell him to come the butterflies in her stomached fluttered wildly, her palms would turn sweaty and the power of speech would desert her. She was so nervous around him, and lately, ever since he'd put the necklace on for her, the nervousness had only increased.

She didn't know where her sudden affliction had come from. Well, okay, she did. She had recently developed a severe case of attraction for the overbearing and arrogant son of a bitch. Anzu was none too happy about it. It just complicated things; Seto had finally softened towards her (barely) and here she was having romantic feelings for him.

__

No, not romantic feelings! Just attraction, a teeny tiny little crush. It'll go away.

She did care for him, as a friend. Only as a friend…. that she was acutely attracted to. Anzu sighed, packing her training clothes and exiting the locker room. It was the stupid teacher's fault, if she hadn't put them together as partners then she would never have gotten to know him better and would still be blissfully indifferent to him. Not that Kaiba didn't piss her off anyway, but he did it less regularly. Or maybe she had just gotten used to his moods.

Anzu had always thought herself as forward looking woman, someone who wasn't afraid to speak her mind and would have no trepidation over asking a guy out on a date. However, it was easier said than done, for she couldn't even summon the courage to ask Seto to come watch her dance.

Not that she would ever ask Seto on date; she had absolutely no desire to make a fool out of herself. The CEO had just only recently become friendlier with her, if it could be called that. The necklace was a sure of sign of him softening toward her, but by no means implied that he liked her like _that_. She wouldn't be dissuaded by the sometimes-conspicuous peeks down her shirt, as she had often caught Yugi doing the same thing and he had never shown any romantic inclinations for her.

She would just have to get over her crush, just like she had done with Yami. Really, there was no help for it. If she wanted to keep seeing Mokuba she would just have to learn to keep her emotions in check. Now for the first time, Anzu wished that she had girl friends, just so that she could have bouts of girl talk without making her friends uncomfortable. The only potential friends were Shizuku and Mai. She didn't know Shizuku well enough to confide in her and Mai was… Mai. She could just imagine telling Yugi had the she had the hots for his one-time enemy…

Anzu at first had decided to go to see Mokuba and Seto after her practice and tell them about her upcoming performance. At the last minute though, she chickened out and took the cowards way; she would call them instead.

She dialed their phone number from outside the dance studio and prayed that it would Mokuba that answered the phone. Anzu had chickened out again and decided that she would tell Mokuba and he could pass the news over to his brother. It would be perfect.

"Hello," Seto's deep voiced answered. _He never answers the phone!_

"Umm… hey, It's me. Anzu. I just wanted to tell you that I have a dance performance this Friday at six o'clock in the Domino Performing Arts Center and wanted to ask if you and Mokuba could come."

"I'm very busy, Mazaki."

"Oh, I see."

"Mokuba will be there."

"Yes, well, I was hoping you could come…"

"As I said I'm very busy."

"Okay…bye."

She hung up the phone before he could say goodbye. That's what pissed her off and confused her about him. He'd bought her a necklace on trip, meaning he had been thinking about her and now he didn't want to go see her because he was too busy?! The thought of him refusing her invitation had never even crossed her mind; she thought their friendship had least grown enough that he would want to see her perform, not that he would ever admit it. She was hurt, but she was even angrier with him for his inconsistent behavior toward her. He was driving her completely insane.

* * *

The theatre was more crowded than he expected it to be. Apparently the school that Anzu was currently been attending was one of the most reputed and its students were hailed as being the best of the best. Seto had done his research, he also knew that Anzu was attending the school with the help of a scholarship, which meant she must be really good.

"Mokuba, Kaiba!" Seto groaned when he saw Yugi calling them and waving furiously at them, gesturing to empty seats around him. Before he could find other seats for him and his brother, Mokuba had bounced away happily to greet Yugi.

It was how he had ended up squeezed between Otogi and Honda. No one challenged his presence; even Jounouchi only gave him a mild glare. Yugi was chattering away with his brother, both were ignoring him, Ryou would glare at him and then make sad eyes and then switch back to glaring, Shizuku smiled shyly at him and Mai gave him a thorough once over that had the confident CEO fidgeting in his seat. Out of no where, Jounouchi started arguing about something or other, Otogi was trying feel Shizuku up and Mai was giving him a weird look. It was all very disconcerting to him. He settled for the easiest conclusion that all Anzu's friends were weirdos. What the hell was he doing among them?

Then the lights dimmed and the music started. Seto sat straight in his seat, expecting the oncoming dancer to be Anzu. It wasn't and the expectation to see her dance increased exponentially until he was seething in his seat because Anzu was making him wait. Finally, at the end of the program she came out from behind the curtain and started to dance to the soft ethereal music.

"Wow, what a hot piece of ass." Seto heard Otogi murmur reverently next to him. Seto elbowed him painfully and mumbled a quick 'sorry,' simultaneously. Otogi didn't respond as the breath was knocked out of him, but Seto didn't noticed as he was enthralled in watching the graceful movements of Mazaki's body.

The tempo suddenly picked up, as did Anzu's movements, his breath was stolen as he watched Mazaki. She was dancing just for him, he was sure of it. Seto knew nothing about dance or ballet or any of the crap Mazaki seemed obsessed with but at the moment none of that mattered, he just knew that Anzu looked amazing. _And she's so flexible…_

The spell broke when she retreated behind the curtains, the audience suddenly came to their feet and were clapping madly. He was surprised to find out he was one of them.

"Wait, don't go," Yugi called out to Seto after the show." Let's go backstage."

Seto followed the weirdos, a few steps behind them of course, a bit hesitantly. He wasn't sure how Anzu would react to his presence; he'd told her he wouldn't come. He had been busy, but Mokuba convinced him to come, saying that Anzu _wanted _him to come see her and he would hurt her feelings if he didn't come. And then he'd given him the pout.

If he had any doubt that Mazaki wouldn't want him there, they were assuaged when she came out and launched herself at him, kissing him on the corner of his mouth. "You came!" she said happily.

She was wearing a pair of baggy sweat pants and a baggy tee-shirt, her face was scrubbed clean of any make up and her hair was done up in a messy pony tail. He thought he looked just as pretty as she had been onstage, maybe even more so. And maybe he had finally crossed the line and was now certifiably insane.

Anzu disentangled her arms from his neck and proceeded to greet the rest of her friends. Seto noted, not without pride, that he had been the first person she greeted and the only one that she kissed aside from Ryou, who had gotten her a bouquet of pink and white roses. Seto paid him no mind, after all_ he _had gotten her a necklace, which he noticed, she was wearing underneath her large shirt. Still, maybe he _should_ have gotten her something for the special occasion…

"Sweetie, you were wonderful!" A middle age woman, with the same blue eyes as Anzu called from the doorway. She embraced her tightly, kissing her happily.

"Mom!" Anzu laughed but let herself be babied by her mother.

"You must want to be with your friends. I'll leave you now, but don't get home too late. Bye guys!" She left as quickly as she had entered. Now, Seto knew from where Anzu had gotten her cheerfulness and endless energy.

"That was awesome, Anzu!"

"Wow, you rocked!"

"You looked great out there."

"Man, I didn't know you could dance like that!"

He waited patiently for her friends to finished their adoration so he could ask her if she wanted to go for some dinner with him and Mokuba for a sort of celebration…

"Hey, Anzu, let's go celebrate!" One of her idiot friends said.

Anzu glowed at the idea and Seto felt like murdering every single one of her friends.

"You coming?" She asked, turning toward him.

He was tempted, very tempted to agree, but just one look at the weirdos had him shaking his head. Jounouchi was trying, unsuccessfully, to strangle Honda, Shizuku was tittering at them while Otogi checked her out from behind, Yugi was rolling his eyes and trying to stop the commotion, Ryou was brooding at the corner and that Mai woman was still giving him that odd look again.

"You could come with Mokuba and me," he asked her quietly so none of the others could hear.

"I'm sorry but I have to go with my friends," she looked genuinely disappointed.

__

Her friends, she has to go with her friends. I'm not one of her friends.

"Seto, can we go too?" Mokuba asked, sliding in between them.

"You go."

"Cool! Thanks, Seto!" He ran to Yugi and Jounouchi.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Anzu asked hoping he would change his mind and come with her. "It'll be fun."

"I'm sure."

"Fine, I guess I'll see you around."

Seto watched somberly as they exited the room, his brother happily laughing and Ryou holding the door open for Mazaki, he stiffened when he saw Ryou place his hand at the small of Anzu's back, leading her out. Ryou turned and gave him a triumphant smirk, very similar to one of his own.

He stayed put for a few moments, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Why did he care so much about who Anzu decided to spent her time with? He swept out of the room, angry with Mokuba for deserting him and at Mazaki for… for… letting that idiot touch her and leaving with her friends instead of him!

* * *

How about… some chocolate today?


	11. Chapter Eleven

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Sorry for not mentioning everyone by name. They're all appreciated. :)

Mamono: Thanks for all your help. You've been very helpful.

* * *

****

Chapter 11

Anzu tinkered with the necklace at her throat, feeling unbelievingly guilty about not having fun at the impromptu party her friends had thrown her. Their celebration included pizza, spiked punch and loud music at Yugi's game shop. She watched her friends laughing, joking, having fun and only wished for Seto's quiet company. Added to the guilt of not wanting to be with her friends, was the guilt of refusing Seto on his offer to celebrate with her. She wanted to go with him so badly, but she knew she couldn't leave her friends; if only the dolt had come with her. She wanted him with her.

She sighed, thinking of her time with him; it hadn't always been easy. He used to drive her up the wall, but now she cherished the time they spent together. She looked forward to the time when she and Mokuba would drag him out of his office. They'd sit together for hours, not speaking, not needing to. And once in a while, Seto would say something, sarcastic most likely, and he would smirk, that wonderful, sexy smirk of his, and her insides would melt.

Seto looked hard and unapproachable, which he was, but he wasn't the evil villain people made him out to be. He was so good to his brother; Anzu couldn't even imagine that type of responsibility at her age. One only needed to see how he treated his brother to see the real Seto Kaiba. Anzu thought of the necklace she was fidgeting with; he could be thoughtful she concluded with a dreamy smile. He was also selfless, at least when it came to his brother. And there was no doubt he was hardworking, always wanting to excel at what ever he did.

Seto could also be gentle, she thought as she remembered the way his hands hand gone around her, clasping the necklace, grazing her neck, her shoulders, so gentle. And when she had kissed him, his lips had been soft and yielding beneath hers, tempting her for a longer, deeper taste.

She had it so bad.

Her infatuation for him had tripled in intensity when she'd seen him back stage amid all of her friends. He had looked so cute with that semi-annoyed glare he'd been sporting, but Anzu was sure she had seen him smile, just a tiny bit, when she'd run to him. She knew she'd made quite a scene out of herself, flying to Seto like that. But as soon as she'd seen him, her feet had taken over and she'd been hugging him. She knew the reason he had come was Mokuba's doing, but she couldn't help being happy at his presence.

She flushed thinking of what Mai had said to her earlier, that she and Seto made a great couple and that she could feel the sexual tension around them.

She only wished.

Even after she had explained things, Mai still refused to believe her, thinking that Anzu wanted to keep things quiet. Mai had even confessed some things about her and Jounouchi's early relationship that Anzu did _not _need to know about.

Anzu cringed when she saw Ryou walking toward her with a smirk on his face that seemed out of place on his innocent face. She looked around quickly for an escape route and found it in Jounouchi who was sulking in a corner watching Otogi and Shizuka flirt. The normally sweet Ryou had been acting very strangely, making her highly uneasy. Granted, things hadn't been exactly comfortable between the two of them since he had asked her out, but now he was really creeping her out.

"Hey, Jounouchi," Anzu said, as she sat down next to him.

"You're not mad at me anymore or are you just using me to hide from Ryou?" Jounouchi asked morosely, his eyes glued to his sister and Otogi.

"I was never mad at you, just a little annoyed. However, I am using you to hide from Ryou." Anzu smiled at him, bumping him a little with her shoulder.

"Fine by me," Jounouchi said, bringing his arm around her.

"Give Ryou a chance, he's a good guy."

"I know. He's really sweet, but I just don't like him like that."

"But you like Kaiba like that?" He asked, irritated.

"You're going to start this again?" Anzu huffed out.

"You like him," Jounouchi declared. "I had my doubts, but after tonight, well, lets just say I've never seen you move that fast to lock lips with someone." He removed his arm from around her.

"I didn't lock lips with Seto." Anzu was laughing despite her embarrassment. She was so obvious that even Jounouchi noticed?

"Yeah, you were off by about a centimeter," he said dryly, clearly upset at the conversation.

"I just have a little crush on him." Anzu felt Jounouchi tensing at her confession, "I don't know why you're so worried, it's not like Seto likes me back." Anzu started to play with her necklace once again, unaware of doing so.

"Kaiba give you that?" Jounouchi asked, eyeing the necklace with distaste.

"Yes."

"And you say he doesn't like you?"

"Not like that. Look, I'm probably the closest person to him other than his brother. He always buys gifts for Mokuba; it's natural that now that I'm his friend that he'd want to extend the gifts to me."

"Sure, believe what you want. I already warned him anyway. Just be careful, alright?"

"You warned him? About what?" Anzu asked, eyes wide.

"Yup; thought he needed some guidance when it came to you. Told him if he ever hurt you, I'd kill him. 'course, I won't kill him… he's gonna wish it though." Jounouchi said with the tone of voice that clearly implied he thought he'd done the right thing.

"How could you do something like that?" Anzu demanded, trying to keep her temper in check.

"What'd I do? I was just trying to look after you."

"I don't need you to look after me, Jounouchi," she said, exasperated. "Whatever happens with Seto and me only concerns us. I don't need you to play big brother."

Anzu saw the hurt in his eyes and instantly regretted her words. She knew he had meant well, but really, as she'd told him, it was between her and Seto. She had never meddled with Mai and him, even though at first she'd had some serious doubts about the woman. Everything had been so much simpler when they'd both been younger.

"You're right, it was none of my business. What was I thinking? Won't happen again," Jounouchi said angrily as he got up and walked to where Otogi was getting too grabby with his baby sister.

At least Mokuba was having fun, Anzu thought as she watched him playing Duel Monsters with Yugi. She wondered what Seto was doing, probably working as always.

"Stop pouting, Anzu," Mai said, handing Anzu a drink and sitting beside her.

"I'm not pouting."

"Uh huh," Mai said sarcastically. "Look, you know how Kaiba is. He's antisocial, he's not going to change, so you better get use to it or dump him."

She gave Mai a grateful smile; she was right, and she should stop pouting for Seto. He wasn't one to enjoy social gatherings of any kind, let alone one with her friends. She'd been more than a little mad at him for not coming with her and had indeed been pouting, but Mai was right, he was not a social person and she had to deal with that.

Mai smirked when Anzu went into a dreamy state, no doubt fantasizing about her delicious Seto. It hadn't escaped Mai's shrewd notice that Anzu hadn't bothered to deny that she and Seto were going out. Poor Jounouchi, he'd already talked to her about his misgivings. He was probably going to have a fit when he found out. She'd coaxed him out of it, Mai thought mischievously, for Anzu's sake, of course.

* * *

Seto was waiting in the parlor, an unread book in his hand and hair in disarray from running his hands through it in annoyance. It had been four hours already and Anzu and his brother still weren't back. He bristled once again, thinking of Mazaki and that fool. Seto had always preferred to use his brains, but with that idiot he'd love to make an exception and bash his head in.

His brother's head poked through the doorway, an impish smile plastered on his face. "Hey, Seto. Missed us?"

"No, I barely noticed you were gone."

Mokuba entered the living room followed by Anzu, who looked very tired but happy. She sat down across from him and smiled at him for a greeting. Seto nodded back, his lips twitching slightly at the sight of the necklace he'd given her.

"Liar, you should have come with us. We played Duel Monsters; I bet if you would have come you would've beaten Yugi."

The jealousy he'd been feeling lessened somewhat, appeased by his brother's confidence in him. They'd played Duel Monsters? Interesting, maybe next time he wouldn't decline an invitation from the weirdos so quickly. He'd been meaning to have a rematch with Yugi anyway.

"I'm going to bed now. Good night you guys," Mokuba gave a heavy yawn for pretenses and skipped to the stairs, leaving Anzu and Seto in an awkward silence.

Anzu started to get up, and Seto, knowing she was about to leave blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Do you want to see the gardens?"

Anzu stared at him, wide eyed and mouth almost gaping. Did Seto Kaiba just ask her for a night stroll? She saw him, shifting a bit in his chair. Yup, he had.

"I'd love to." she smiled at him brilliantly.

Wordlessly, he got up and led her to gardens, where they walked together in silence, shoulder to shoulder. Seto stopped once they reached a small bench in the middle of flowers and trees. Even though she was now a regular visitor at the manor Anzu had never seen the gardens; they were spectacular. She sat down gingerly on the bench, sighing when she felt Seto beside her, his arm touching hers.

"It's beautiful, Seto," she said leaning closer to him.

Okay, he'd gotten her to the garden, now what was he supposed to do?

It was just Mazaki, he reminded himself, his little brother's friend. The girl that'd been a pest to him since the day he'd met her. The girl he had never been able to stomach… the girl that cared about his Mokuba, the girl that worried when she saw dark circles under his eyes. What was wrong with him? He had been unable to summon any sort of vile thoughts against Mazaki for quite a while now.

"Seto, where were you going to take me to celebrate?" Anzu asked, the curiosity had been eating at her all night.

"Anywhere you wanted," Seto replied without hesitation.

Anzu felt herself melting into a huge puddle of mush.

Seto turned away, overwhelmed by the smile she had decided to grace him with. No one smiled at him like she did. She had such a sweet smile, devoid of any hypocrisy, like he received everyday from associates and workers. It wasn't a vapid smile either, like the women trying to climb the social ladder by dating him. It wasn't filled with pity either, like Yugi's, and it wasn't mocking like Jounouchi's.

"I wanted to go with you," Anzu said shyly.

"Did you?" Seto asked, arching a brow, clearly not believing her.

"Yes, but my friends had already asked me and-"

"There's no need to explain, Mazaki," Seto said, more harshly than he'd intended.

"Are you mad?" Anzu asked, put off by his tone of voice.

"No," he said sharply.

"You sound like you are."

"I'm not."

Anzu decided to drop it; she'd seen enough of Seto to know how stubborn he could be. "Did you enjoy the show?" Anzu asked, maneuvering the conversation to safer waters.

An image of Mazaki, dancing gracefully in her little skirt came unbidden in Seto's mind "I did."

"I'm glad. I was afraid you weren't going to like it."

The conversation stalled again, and Seto pondered the idea of facing off with a vicious businessmen, he'd take that any day instead of trying to make conversation with Mazaki. He'd talked to her before. Why was it so hard to do it now? It was then that he realized that it was the first time they had been alone for months. All their time together was spent with Mokuba, and at school they were surrounded by their peers and the faculty.

"Is that what you want to do? Dance?" he asked, thankful for the breath of inspiration.

"Yes. " A soft smile graze her lips, "I've always wanted to be a dancer, ever since I was a kid."

"You're very good."

"Thank you." Anzu beamed at the compliment. Seto was sure acting weird, but who was she to complain. "Did you always want to be a snarky, Duel Monster battling, business tycoon?"

"No, I wanted to be a ninja when I was little," Seto admitted before he could stop his brain from voicing his thoughts. Ever since he'd invited her to the gardens, his brain had stopped functioning properly… well his brain always seemed to catch a glitch whenever the brunette was around.

"No way!" Anzu laughed. She sensed that Seto probably hadn't meant to tell her such a personal thing and probably thought she was laughing at him. "Hey, I'm not laughing at you. It's very cute."

"Please don't use the word 'cute' when referring to me or anything having to do with me," Seto said, looking slightly offended.

"Sorry, what I meant to say was manly, yes, very manly of you," Anzu said, laughing despite herself. If only he knew that the girls at school used the word 'cute' to describe certain parts of his anatomy.

"Hmm… I didn't know I had comical abilities," he sneered, half in anger and half in amusement.

"Seto," Anzu told him, ceasing her laughter to run her hands through his fringe to shift the hair out of his eyes. "I'm really not laughing at you."

Seto shot her a mock glare that Anzu found incredibly 'cute.'

"Okay, maybe a little. I can just imagine you running around in your Ninja costume, waving a sword around, screaming bloody murder and chasing imaginary adversaries. It's cu- adorable."

"Different word, same meaning, Mazaki," he said dryly.

"Alright, I promise not to tease you anymore," Anzu told him.

Seto remembered that she had also promised not tease him about the movie incident; he didn't think it would be wise to bring that up now, as she had barely reined in her laughter.

Anzu hated to break the mood they were in, she'd never seen Seto quite like this, but she needed to get home. She'd only planned to drop Mokuba off quickly.

"It's getting late," Anzu said, sounding extremely miffed.

Understanding, Seto stood up, refusing to sink down any lower and ask her to stay a little while longer. He clenched his teeth tightly, a precaution in case his brain decided to betray him again by babbling out stupidities.

"I'm sorry about Jounouchi," Anzu said as they walked back tot he manor.

"Everyone is."

Anzu gave a short laugh. "I'm apologizing for the talk you had to endure with him," Anzu explained, reddening from embarrassment. "We're very close and he thinks of me as his sister. He was only trying to look after me."

"I know," Seto said, wanting to ease her discomfort. Jounouchi had once again proven he was a complete idiot; he should have gone after Ryou. "You aren't to blame for your friends indiscretions."

They reached the doorway, both were hesitant and unsure of how to say goodbye. Finally, Anzu stretched upward to hug Seto and kiss him on the cheek. In the last second, though, Seto shifted his head and Anzu's lips landed on his. Anzu's heart skipped a beat, and Seto fought the urge to moan as electric shocks coursed through his body.

"Thank you, for celebrating with me," Anzu whispered against his lips, still on her tiptoes.

She was out the door, before he could gather his wits about him. He hadn't felt this nervous about kissing a girl since the orphanage where little Izumi had dragged him out of bed and given him his first kiss underneath a cafeteria table.

A tiny smile grazed his lips as he recalled Anzu's parting words. Had she really meant to tell him that of all the places he could have take her, she'd taken sitting in the garden with him as a celebration?

"You kissed Anzu," a pajama clad form said from the foyer.

"And you've been spying."

"Yeah," Mokuba said sheepishly, "I'm grounded aren't I?"

"Yes. Three days."

"Just take into account that Anzu adores me and if I hadn't gone to bed tonight, leaving you two alone, maybe Anzu wouldn't have kissed you or you her…" Mokuba said smirking.

"Three days."

Twice, Seto thought, Anzu had kissed him twice on the lips. He wondered if she did that with all her friends. He suddenly scowled, imagining Anzu kissing Yugi and Jounouchi and all her many other male friends. For his sanity's sake he decided not to think about that anymore.

* * *

The following week at school Seto seemed to be running into Anzu everywhere he went… and Ryou, who was yapping at her heels. At first he'd been furious, but the further into the week the more annoyed Anzu looked at being trailed by the fool. He wondered why she didn't just tell him to go to Hell.

"Where's your watchdog, Mazaki?" he asked when he saw her, alone for the first time that week. Ryou had even walked her to all her classes.

"Shh, he's around here somewhere. Pretend to be talking to me," she whispered hurriedly as she led him by the arm outside.

"I _am_ talking to you."

"I meant have a conversation with me. Could you stay for a couple of minutes? Maybe if he sees us talking he'll go away," Anzu said as she sat down on the grass. Seto almost crinkled his nose in disgust but sat down on the grass next to her.

"Why don't you tell him to leave you alone?"

"I have," Anzu said, flushed. "He still follows me around. And the guys just laugh, they think it's so sweet that Ryou likes me that much," she said rolling her eyes, making Seto's lips curl slightly. "Don't you dare laugh too," Anzu told, sensing his amusement.

Seto said nothing, just laid back on the grass, his arms behind his head, and a weird expression on his face, forgetting how filthy the grass probably was. He already guessed that Anzu didn't like Ryou, but it felt nice to have it confirmed by her own words and vehement attitude.

"He's really creeping me out," Anzu told him, shivering.

"Has he done anything to you?" Seto inquired, giving her a sideways glance from his spot on the ground.

"No, it's not what he does… I can't explain… it's just a feeling," Anzu said as she brushed his hair back from his eyes.

"Why do you do that?" Seto asked, his expression indifferent.

"I don't know; I guess I just want to see your eyes." She smiled at him and Seto who thought his hair was getting too long, decided to keep his hair at exactly the same length forever.

"Anzu, aren't you going to the cafeteria for lunch? I'll accompany you," Ryou said in an oily voice, approaching them slowly, a serene smile on his face.

"She's going to spend her lunch hour here," Seto said, through clenched teeth, not moving from his relaxed position.

"Is that so?" Ryou asked mockingly.

"Yes, Ryou. Tell the guys for me please," she said, dismissing him and edging closer to Seto.

Stiffly and with a last glare to Seto, Ryou left them alone.

"Thanks, I was about to lose it and hit him over the head with the first heavy object I could find."

"Take my briefcase," Seto deadpanned.

"Now, we're going to be hungry," Anzu complained. "Actually you don't have to stay. Go on and get lunch. Just leave your briefcase," Anzu joked.

"We'll pick up Mokuba after school and get something to eat," Seto said, "if you want," he finished.

Anzu nodded in the affirmative, smiling again. Is that all she did when she was with Seto? If she did, no wonder most of her friends knew she liked him. "So, Mokuba told me you grounded him."

"He did?"

"Yeah, he called me on Saturday. Said you were an ungrateful, power hungry, megalomaniac, impressive vocabulary for an 11 year-old by the way. What did he do?"

Anzu and Seto continued talking softly, unaware of a platinum blonde haired boy watching them a few meters ahead of them, hidden behind a tree. At first he didn't believe Yugi and the others when they told him she liked Seto. Now that he saw Kaiba laying down on the ground as if he didn't have a care in the world and Anzu sitting opposite to him, her body aligned to his and her knees almost touching his torso, he was sure they were right. His suspicions were further confirmed when Anzu leaned low to brush her hand through his hair.

He'd just have to try harder.

* * *

__

I'm thinking two more chapters… not sure yet. I don't want the story to drag but don't want them to get together too soon. I always have trouble with endings.

Pink cotton candy for all that review!

It seems everything I write is coming out pink and fluffy … I'm coming down with something, I know it. Hope you guys enjoyed.


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N: Clears throat I'm very sorry for the late update. I've been so busy and... well... kinda lazy. I hope I haven't lost the tread of the this fic.

Anyway, all you guy's reviews mean so much, thank you everyone that has reviewed... I'll try to update as soon as possible but it might be a while.

Thanks to my awesome beta, Mamono.

For A Penny 12

Anzu hadn't come to school.

Seto sat down by himself in the cafeteria, and started working rather morosely on his laptop, knowing that Anzu would have closed his laptop and forced him to have a conversation with her if she had been to school. He frowned, not knowing why he found that endearing.

After the 'Ryou incident' as she termed it, they had taken to eating lunch together. Not everyday, of course, since the geeks she called friends apparently couldn't live without her. Seto couldn't fathom why she spent such an obscene amount of time with _them_. She could spend all that wasted time with... Mokuba, yeah, with Mokuba.

She'd stopped being a nuisance to him a while back. Granted, he still disliked her half the time they spent together; she was just so... happy all the time. Not only that but also loud, spirited, idealistic, playful, stubborn and opinionated. Funny, how those traits should have bothered him a lot more that they actually did .

Anzu was... she was...

She made everything around her prettier, lighter, more enjoyable. He looked forward to being with her; he specially liked having lunch with her because it was the only time that they spent alone. He loved his brother, but sometimes he wished he had more time with Anzu, just to.. just...

He liked spending time with her. The revelation had at first shocked him, but then he remembered her pretty face smiling at him, winking at him, laughing and suddenly everything made sense. She'd also run her fingers through his hair, hug him, kiss him... yeah he looked forward to that too. Maybe more that he should have.

He took some bites from his lunch out of boredom. Anzu was supposed to have lunch with him today (and bring the dessert), why couldn't she be absent when she was having lunch with _them_? They were such a bothersome bunch.

What if something had happened to her? Anzu rarely missed class; it must have been something big for her to just miss class... and not tell him. The food in his mouth had gone tasteless. He pushed back his tray and tried to concentrate on work once again.

He wondered if the _they _knew anything about her. But surely if she had time to tell _them _then it was only logical that she would tell him too. Right? Of course she would have told him.

He didn't have Anzu's phone number. Why the hell didn't he have it? She always called him, never on his cell phone though. Mokuba probably had it, but he wasn't going to call his brother and ask him for her phone number. Mokuba would never let him live it down.

He did, however, know where she lived...

Mazaki probably needed her homework; she wouldn't want to get behind...

And Mokuba would want to know if something was wrong with Anzu...

It was settled then; he would check up on Mazaki after school, take her homework and if it was nothing, like he thought, then he would call Mokuba and have him beg her to go out with them. Wait. How... was he going to live that one down with his brother? Hmm... Okay, he would just check on her and not tell his brother at all.

He'd call Mokuba only if there was anything wrong with Mazaki. A horrible feeling settled in the pit of his stomach at the thought of something being wrong with Anzu. It was probably nothing. Would her friends tell him if something had come up? It was Monday. He hadn't seen her since Friday (had she called?) since she had been with _them_.

Most likely, Mazaki had just been a lazy ass and over-slept... she had been complaining about her schedule recently.

That was probably it.

He hoped that had been it, for his brother's sake. Mokuba would be devastated if anything had happened to her.

* * *

The bubbly Ms. Mazaki opened the door with a huge smile. "Oh, you're Seto Kaiba, Anzu's little friend!"

Kaiba stared down at the five foot nothing woman in front of him. He refused to comment on that. Thankfully Ms. Mazaki didn't required an answer as she continued talking to him about how delighted she was that she cared so much about Anzu to spare some time out of his busy schedule to come and see her when she was ill.

Seto refused to comment on that too.

She led him to the kitchen where she promptly placed a tray of food on his hands. If he understood her correctly then he was to take the hot chicken soup to her daughter before it turned cold.

"Go on, now, sweetie, I'm sure Anzu will be thrilled to see you."

Ms. Mazaki reminded him of Anzu, except she was shorter and much more pushy. He didn't think it would be smart to glare at Anzu's mom, so he headed quietly to where Ms. Mazaki had said Anzu's room was.

He rapped loudly at the door, still a little embarrassed at Ms. Mazaki's amicable treatment of him. Like mother, like daughter.

"Come in, Mom." Anzu's voice sounded muffled.

When Seto stepped into her room, Anzu thought she was hallucinating. School uniform and carrying his briefcase and a tray replete with food... Could cold medicine cause hallucinations or was she just plain crazy?

"Hi."

Oooh, it spoke too.

"Hey." She smiled goofily at him.

"Mazaki?"

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Seto said as he placed the tray on her bed.

He was looking worried now, a line forming on his brow. He looked so pretty.

Wait, wait, wait...

"Seto!"

"Hove you gone stupid? Of course its me," he told her roughly although still looking concerned.

It was real. He was real. Oh, shit.

Anzu wanted to hide under her blanket and die. She must look awful. What the hell was he doing here anyway?

"I brought your homework," he said standing tensely beside her bed.

_Oh, how sweet._

She smiled goofily at him again. "Thank you."

"Are you very sick?"

"No, it's just a cold. I must look dreadful," she said, self-consciously brushing a hand through her tangled hair.

"You do," Seto agreed, noticing for the first time the mess her hair was, her swollen eyes and red nose. She must be feeling terrible.

"You know, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," Anzu said sullenly, burrowing deeper into her blankets.

"What did I say?" Seto asked puzzled.

"You agreed with me."

"You should be thrilled." He smirked at her.

"Idiot."

"Are you always this bitchy when you're sick?"

"Do you always kick people when they're down?"

"What did I do?"

"Idiot. You weren't supposed to agree with me. You were supposed to tell me I looked perfectly fine."

"But you don't."

Anzu sighed and let the subject drop, knowing they could go on forever. She settled for glaring at him instead.

"Sit down." Anzu patted her bed.

Seto looked at a chair across room, ignored it and sat on Mazaki's bed. She smiled at him. Being use to caring for Mokuba when he was sick, Seto felt like placing a hand on Mazaki's forehead to check her temperature, fluff her pillow and tuck her in tighter to make her as comfortable as possible and read to her so she wouldn't be bored.

"I'll probably be back to school tomorrow. I've been sick since Saturday."

"You didn't to anything with _them_?" Seto almost smiled.

"No." Anzu looked disappointed. "I hate getting sick. We'll probably do something this weekend. Wanna come?"

"Do you have to ask? Of course not."

"Seto-"

"I will not associate with _them_."

"They're my friends, Seto, try to get along with them."

"I don't see a reason to."

Anzu looked sadly at him and Seto wondered what he had said this time. Man, she was touchy when she was sick.

"I could bring Mokuba later on," Seto said, trying to cheer her up.

"No, I don't want him catching my cold."

"I'll see you tomorrow at school?"

"Hopefully."

Seto wanted to leave, he had a lot of things to do, but he felt something was missing. Anzu was resting on her bed, groggy and looking worn and he realized he would not be getting a goodbye hug or kiss. It was a bizarre occurrence. The feeling that shot through Seto was too odd for words.

Then Mazaki smiled and blew him a kiss and the feeling went away.

He grabbed his briefcase took out Mazaki's homework and placed it on her night stand.

"Eat your soup."

Anzu started cracking up at his motherish tone.

He glared at her and she sobered up, not wanting to irritate him after he'd been nice enough to have brought her homework. . "Thanks for coming, Seto."

He nodded at her and left her room.

"Leaving so soon?" Ms. Mazaki's voice called from the kitchen.

"Yes, I have to pick up by brother from school."

"Oh, you're so responsible," Ms. Mazaki beamed at him. "You just have come to dinner once of these days and bring your little brother with you."

Seto's eyes widened, his heart started beating a mile a minute. "I'm very busy-"

"Now, don't you refuse me," Mazaki's mother said, placing her hands on her hips and giving him the mom look. Yeah, the mom look, the one that made you spill your guts, and regret whatever you had done to deserved the mom look.

"I won't, Ms. Mazaki," Seto said respectfully.

"Wonderful! Anzu will delighted."

There was a very scary moment when Seto thought Ms. Mazaki would hug him, pinch his cheek or something. Thankfully, that moment passed and Seto left without further embarrassment.

* * *

As much as she tried, Anzu couldn't stop smiling.

And there was the cause, walking toward her, glaring at everyone who crossed his path. Anzu felt like giggling and jumping up and down and squealing. She felt like such a girl.

He had gone to see her. He could rationalize all he wanted that he had done for his brother but Anzu knew he'd gone to see her out of his own worry. He liked her more than he let on.

Anzu was looking at him oddly again. She was standing by his car, waiting for him to take them home. Her eyes were sparkling and she looked almost dreamy. During their lunch, she had been quiet, a rare occurrence, but had smiled at him the way Mokuba did whenever he thought his older brother had behaved appropriately.

_Oh..._

"Stop looking at me like that, Mazaki," he told her as he opened and doors and slipped inside his car. "The only reason I want to see you was because I knew Mokuba would want me to."

"Sure," Mazaki said pleasantly while buckling up. "Whatever you say."

He gave her a sideways glance, noticing that she still had that huge smile plastered on her face. "You're so annoying," he said as he drove away from the school.

"Admit it, you like me."

"I will not."

"You won't admit it?"

"Never."

"But you do like me?"

"Mazaki-" he almost growled her name out.

"I'll stop bugging if you just admit it,"

Seto wanting to strangle her. She was so _annoying_. Couldn't she see he wasn't comfortable with the conversation? She was doing it on purpose, the little witch. He knew he liked her, she knew he liked her; why did they need to talk about it?

"I don't dislike you," he told her, and just to bother her he added, "as much as I used to."

"Why do I even put up with you?" Anzu said laughing. She was still looking at him oddly. It made him twitch in his seat.

"Well, you won't be putting up with me for a while."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to go on another trip."

"When are you leaving?" She asked sad at the concept of having him gone.

He was strangely pleased that she looked so dejected. "Next Friday. I'll be gone about two weeks."

"It's too long..." Mazaki pouted prettily, looking at him beneath her lashes.

"Okay, I get it you're sad. Don't be so melodramatic."

"I'll miss you," she said sincerely, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair. "Will you miss me?"

"Doubtful," Seto said without any bite, his lips twitching, an indication that maybe he meant the opposite.

"You will because you like me," Anzu said confidently.

"Would you knock it off?"

"Why? I like to see you blushing."

"You're so annoying."

"You've said that already."

"Just because I said it before doesn't make it any less true."

By the time Mokuba got to the car, Anzu was laughing like a maniac and Seto was trying desperately not to strangle her.

"Why do _I_ put up with you?" Seto asked irritably.

"Because you like me."

Seto groaned and Mokuba sniggered in the backseat.

* * *

"Can we talk?"

Anzu looked at Jounouchi's serious expression and nodded instantly. They hadn't exactly been on the best of terms lately. She missed him terribly, she missed his awful jokes and silly grin...

They slipped out of Yugi's game shop unnoticed, everyone was enthralled in watching Rebecca kick Honda's butt at Duel Monsters. Jounouchi placed his arm around her shoulders and led her to Yugi's room. They sat next to each other on Yugi's bed, Anzu laying her head against his chest.

"When's he coming back?" He didn't need to specify who 'he' was.

"Not until Wednesday," Anzu said miserably. The last time he called he had said he was having some difficulties so it might be longer. She wanted him back soon.

"You like him a lot don't you?"

"Yes."

Jounouchi sighed. "You know you spent more time with him than any of your other boyfriends?"

"I never spent time with him _alone," _Anzu said blushing.

"You know what I mean." Jounouchi pulled her tighter against him. "I know I've been a jerk. It's just that I don't think Kaiba is the guy for you." He sighed, "I don't know what you see in him, but there must be something for you to be crushing on him so badly. So, I just wanted to tell you that I fully support your relationship with that idiotic, arrogant, son of a-"

Anzu started laughing. "Thanks."

"Hey, I figured if you all gave Mai a chance... You were awesome, Anzu, more than anyone else. Giving me advice and everything."

"Well, you were so pathetic."

"Said the kettle."

"I'm not pathetic. I'm simply very much in like with him."

"I know, you practically start drooling every time you see him. However, my pathetically infatuated friend, looking at Kaiba as if he was the eighth wonder of the world classifies you as pathetic."

"I don't look at him like that. I'm very discrete," Anzu assured him seriously.

Jounouchi burst out laughing."Discrete? Oh, please the whole school thinks you're going out."

"What?" Anzu cried horrified.

"Come on, Anzu, what else would they think? You leave with him after school at least twice a week, you eat lunch together, he's actually nice to you and some people could even swear they saw him smiling at you. The only reason people haven't ask you or him directly is because Kaiba is damn scary."

"This is so embarrassing," she lamented.

Jounouchi debated if he should say something else to Anzu. He knew Kaiba was crazy about Anzu, even if he had his head so far up his ass he didn't realize it. While Anzu had all that friendship crap, um, stuff in the bag she really needed to work on the romantic aspects of love.

"I've been thinking-"

"Always a dangerous thing," Anzu joked.

"Quiet you, I'm trying to help, although the effort may kill me."

"Sorry, go ahead."

"I've been thinking that maybe you should ask him out." Ugh, what was he doing!

"What? No way, the guy can't even admit to liking me at all."

"Trust me, he likes you. He more than likes you."

"Taking peeks down my shirt doesn't imply that he wants to have a relationship with me."

"Okay, fine," Jounouchi said exasperated. "Let's say he doesn't like you. Then make him like you."

"You can't make a person like you, either they like you or they don't."

"Chicken," he taunted.

"Jounouchi," Anzu said laughing at Jounouchi's determination at getting his best friend together with the person he most disliked in the world.

"Wuss."

"Stop it. I'm neither... I'm careful."

"Call it what you want. Ask him out; what can happen?"

"He can say no."

"So? You'll get over it."

"It's not that easy."

"Sure it is."

"Was I this bothersome when I was telling you to go for it with Mai?"

He continued on, ignoring her comment, "You're fine with Yami now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but I never asked him out."

"Maybe if you had he'd be with you right now."

Anzu's head reeled at how that would work out since Yami was still firmly attached to Yugi. But Jounouchi was right, she could have been more assertive. Seto was definitely different toward her, but that didn't imply that he liked her as anything more than a friend. "I don't know."

"Me either, but I think Yami might have been interested."

"Not that. I'm talking about asking Seto out."

"Oh." Jounouchi smiled slowly at her. "Go for it."

"Jounouchi?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for being so awesome. I love you."

Jounouchi reddened and started mumbling. "Um, me too." He leaned over to hug her and a sudden thought sprang into his mind. "Hey, Anzu, you think you can make him stop calling me mutt?"

Kaiba was barely inside his house when someone attacked him... with kisses. Some landed on his cheeks, others on his nose, a few on his forehead and some in the vicinity of his lips and chin. He staggered back trying to escape the onslaught and dropped his luggage in the process.

Finally, he managed hold her at arm's length. Anzu was glowing and smiling crookedly at him. Without conscious thought his hands lost the grasp on her shoulders and their bodies slid together. He lost himself in her sweet scent, in the soft curves of her body for only a few seconds before his brain took over and he awkwardly removed himself from their embrace.

"Hello."

_I've missed you._

"Hi."

He looked tired, tensed and maybe even a little bit pleased at her presence. He was gazing warmly at her, making the butterflies in her stomach flutter around uncontrollably. She had missed him so much.

"Mokuba tried to wait up for you but didn't make it."

He'd missed his little brother terribly. He couldn't wait to see him, even if he was asleep. He grabbed his suitcases and headed for the stairs. "I'm going to check up on him. Don't leave yet."

Anzu went to the parlor and plopped down on the sofa Jounouchi's words reverberating through her mind. She got nervous just thinking about it. Asking out Seto Kaiba. Oh, boy, she was going to be sick.

She would ask him out; if she was sure that he returned her feelings. He had let her get close to him, was even nice to her, although they still fought like cats and dogs, but to jump from that to implying that Seto liked her was a giant leap.

Something soft dropped in her lap. It was a winking stuffed dark magician girl.

Seto waited expectantly for Mazaki to smile prettily. She didn't disappoint. He'd been having seconds thoughts about the gift, it was such a common gift, surely she could have gotten it herself, but the smile on her face proved that his instincts had been correct. How had he known that the dark magician girl was her favorite monster. Had she told him?

Further deliberation was interrupted by Mazaki once again hugging the breath out of him, the magician girl between them. He was starting to think she was even more expressive than his brother. "What's this, Mazaki? You're acting... friendlier than usual." Not that he minded.

"Sorry," she said stepping back. "I've just missed you very much." She hugged the magician girl tightly to her chest. "Seto, you don't have to get me gifts-"

"I know."

Truth of the matter was he wanted to get her gifts. He'd gone to get something for his brother but every item for women reminded him of Anzu. He had wondered if she would like those earrings or that hair clip, how they might look on her, if she liked a particular book, or how she would fill up an exceptionally skimpy bikini...

She was staring at him oddly again. He gave her a puzzled look, trying not to squirm under her scrutiny. Damn, but Mazaki always made him edgy, uncomfortable and... tingly?

Anzu took a deep breath. He might like her, and she might miss an opportunity if she didn't ask him out. Then again he might not like her and she'd be making a fool of herself if she did ask him.

She couldn't remember every liking a guy so much. She also couldn't remember knowing a more difficult guy. And what about her? He could be a real asshole sometimes. She looked at the magician girl in her hands, thinking about all the sweet things she'd seen him do. Dating him would be much different than secretly crushing on him and stealing hugs and kisses from him.

One look at his handsome face made up her mind.

"Seto, how would you feel about hanging out?" Okay, she didn't exactly asked him out but she felt less vulnerable.

"We hang out all the time, Mazaki," he said, puzzlement clear on his face.

Man, did he pick a fine day to suddenly become stupid. "I meant just you and me," she clarified. "And not at school either."

Oh, crap, he wasn't blinking. Was he turning green?She had really put her foot in it this time. It would be okay, in time he'd forget it and it would be like nothing happened. Yup, just a few million years...

"Okay."

Seto looked as if his mouth had acted independently from his brain. He should be use to it as was a regular occurrence when Mazaki was around. Shit, alone with Mazaki and no Mokuba... Why were his palms all sweaty?

"Great," she said, sounding more sure of herself than she felt. Why was she more nervous now that he had accepted? She was such a weirdo, she should be happy instead of freaking out because the guy she liked had just agreed to... hang out with her.

"I'll head home now. Get some rest."

They stood standing in front of each other, both unsure of how to proceed. Kaiba wondered if he'd get a goodbye hug and Anzu wondered if it would too much to give him a goodbye hug, after all she'd given him enough hugs to last him a life time.

One morecouldn't hurt she thought.

She hugged him tightly, was about to kiss his cheek when Seto turned his face, leaned down and kissed her squarely on the lips. The kiss lasted a few milliseconds longer than any they had shared before. Anzu smiled at him, noticing something in his eyes that could very well be the same thing that was present in hers.

* * *

There it is... I hope you guys are still with me. 


	13. Chapter 13

As always, thank you all for the kind reviews and encouraging words. And once again I apologize for dragging this story for so long. However, I do promise the next, and final chapter, will be posted by next month.

* * *

Things really hadn't turned out the way Anzu had planned. She never expected Seto to start spouting poetry and declare his undying love for her, but she expected _something_. She gave a frustrated sigh while making her way into the school courtyards. Their school's basketball team had made it to the finals and were hosting the final game tonight. Anzu asked him to come, and he'd looked at her as if she were crazy. Practically everyone from their school was attending… except of course the "Great Seto Kaiba," who was too high and mighty to attend such a juvenile game.

"Anzu, over here!"

She pushed and shoved her way up the stands to her friends. Jounouchi was swearing at players while trying to maneuver a giant ice-cream cone. Yugi was intent on the game while Honda tried to cozy up to the pretty girl next to him. She smiled widely as she sat between Yugi and Jounouchi; her boys were just awesome, they just plain freaking rocked. She loved their quirkiness, their friendliness and easy humor. A girl couldn't get any luckier.

Her smile wavered when she thought about Seto again. They would never mix, her goofy friends and the ever serious Seto. And what did that imply about Seto's and her relationship? She was just as silly and carefree as her friends most of the time. She liked him, she liked him _a lot_, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same way. Instead of becoming closer since she asked him out, he'd withdrawn. Maybe it had only been wishful thinking on her part to believe what Jounouchi had said, maybe she had misinterpreted matters, and maybe he had only agreed to hang out with her because he was afraid that if he said no then she would stop visiting Mokuba…

How humiliating.

Almost as much as their first date. Anzu had been so exited, carefully selecting the clothes she was going to wear, agonizing about her hair, almost crying out of frustration from the Mac-truck size zit that had popped out on her chin. She had spent hours on her appearance hoping she would wow him into drooling. She must have changed outfits at least a dozen times, scrubbed her face clean just as many times and redid all her make up. Her efforts caused her to get a little behind, but she had wanted everything to be perfect. She was only a tiny bit late.

Thirteen minutes late, according to his Lordship.

The fact that he had pointed it out hadn't really bothered her, she was used to it. What did bother her, and quite a lot, was the fact that he'd barely looked twice at her. Okay, Seto wasn't the most demonstrative guy, she got that, it hurt but she got it nonetheless. They had said their goodbyes to Mokuba and went on their way.

For act two of the most horrible date she'd EVER had they went to have dinner first. That had been the only good part of the evening, and that was due to the fact that both Seto and Anzu seemed to have been stuffing their faces to avoid eye contact and the prospect of conversation. Things had gone downhill from there on. Seto had left the decision of where for the first date up to Anzu. At first she'd been uncomfortable, wanting them to choose the location together, but Seto assured her that wherever she chose to go would be fine.

Now where to take a seventeen year old boy billionaire? Certainly one couldn't take him to the regular hangouts kids their age went for dates. No, Seto wasn't like the other boys. She wouldn't be frequenting arcades, or hanging out at malls, or going dancing with Seto or sitting down at the park and just shooting the breeze and playing silly games. She wished she was a little more mature… or perhaps that he wasn't so mature. For goodness sake, she was dating a boy who was president of his own company, had the sole guardianship of his baby brother and was a workaholic to boot!

She ended up deciding to take him to a duel monsters convention. They convention offered a small tournament that boasted of having the most up and coming young duelist, along with the entertainment of games, shops, rides and stores filled with the rarest duel cards. Anzu had thought it would be perfect. She enjoyed watching dueling; she actually loved the game, even if she was only a mediocre dualist. She was sure Seto would also enjoy their date.

Actually, she didn't know if he actually enjoyed it or not. She had a hunch that if she wouldn't have been present he would have been much happier. As it was, he had watched the tournament silently, barely even blinking and had only stiffened his posture when Anzu had leaned on him, laying her head on his shoulder. Anzu had wanted to hold hands, but she knew, she just _knew_ that he would balk at that just as much as he had when she rested against him during the tournament. That had been awkward…

Then again, not as much as the ride on the Ferris wheel or the drive back to his home…

Before she had opened her big mouth and asked him out, they had reached a good place, they were friends and were easy and comfortable with each other and now everything had gone to crap. Even being constantly at each other's throat had been better than this awful awkwardness that had fallen over them like a thick shroud. She'd gotten used to his sarcasm and dry humor, his gravelly voice telling her about his new project… Since their date he seemed withdrawn, hardly making conversation with her. Ten minutes with him seemed like an eternity of silence, reaching for words to make it simple and easy once again.

An elbow to her chest drew her out her maudlin thoughts. "OW! Jounouchi!"

"Sorry, babe."

The culprit went right on eating his mega huge ice-cream. Anzu gave him a glare that had Jounouchi scooting back as far as possible. "You have been hanging out with Kaiba way too much."

"Yes, and it's your fault now isn't it?" She glared once more and then felt bad because now Jounouchi was looking quite puzzled and wondering what the hell he had done to deserve her bitchiness right in the middle of the game.

Yugi, sensing something wrong, rubbed her back in comforting circles. She mumbled an apology to Jounouchi and tried to focus her attention on the game. She failed utterly, and did nothing but think on what had gone wrong with her and Seto.

He had kissed her, and it had been the sweetest most wonderful kiss she had ever received, even if had only lasted no more than ten seconds. Didn't that mean something? Even if he had somehow misconstrued her words why would he kiss her? Had she looked that needy? That desperate? Or maybe he had kissed her on impulse, without thinking; it happened sometimes. People just got caught in the moment. Oh, man, she had practically thrown herself at him, had probably looked so eager, so damn silly.

She wished she could rewind time.

* * *

"Morning, Seto."

Kaiba didn't dignify that with a response. The mutt had taken to greeting him whenever he saw him. He was especially jovial when Seto was accompanied by Anzu, which was more often than not. Strained as things were, neither one of them wanted to let go of the habits they had established. They still ate lunch together every other day and Anzu still visited him and Mokuba after school.

But things weren't the same anymore. Anzu liked him, enough to have asked him out. He was having trouble just wrapping his mind around that. She had admitted something he hadn't even dared to hope for. She had chosen him, over all the other boys in her life, over Yugi and Jounouchi and… everyone. She wanted him. It was wonderful and terrifying news at the same time. What was he to do with her now? Yes, before the lines had been blurred, but now they were nowhere to be seen. He had no idea how to be a boyfriend, especially not to someone so…someone as special as Anzu. He felt inept and incompetent, traits he had never used to describe himself before. He wasn't even sure that she was worth the trouble.

"We won." Anzu approached his locker, leaned on the wall and smiled prettily. Every time he saw her his mouth watered. He concentrated on putting his books away to prevent staring at her.

"I know," he said, gesturing to all the sings and banners proclaiming the school's victory and upcoming victory dance.

The warning bell rang for their first period class, saving them from further conversation. "See you later."

He nodded at her, watched her walk away, soon joined by Yugi, who grinned widely and even waved merrily back at him. If there was one thing that he absolutely could not stand about Anzu, it was her stupid attachment to her idiotic friends. Yugi would always have his victories over him, the mutt would always annoy the hell out of him. They were the ones that made his blood boil, especially Yugi, who he was certain had at one point been more than just a friend to Anzu. For some reason that was a bigger mark against Yugi than the countless times he had suffered defeat at his hands.

"Hurry up or you'll be late, Kaiba," Honda said as he ran toward his class.

They were all talking to him now. He couldn't think of anything more distasteful than having to endure their attempts at friendship. Seto had thought they had given up on him. Did they think that because he was dating their friend he would finally join their little club? Not likely. Although, that would mean spending more time with Anzu… no she definitely wasn't worth _that_ much trouble.

Just for the hell of it, not for any particular reason what so ever, Seto found himself near the school auditorium where Anzu sometimes practiced. He knew she had plans to go out with her friends, but perhaps she was still rehearsing. He heard music and smiled, thinking that as he was already there he might as well go in to see her. They had eaten lunch together, had taken history class together and now he still felt the need to see her again…It was getting ridiculous, his infatuation with her, he thought morosely, but still proceeded to the auditorium doors.

He found the auditorium blasting with music and the motley crew screwing around. Like always they were making fool of themselves. Anzu was right in the middle of it. Jounouchi was neighing like a horse and prattling around the stage, oh yeah, and Anzu was on his back, laughing her head off. Not only that, but her skirt tended to hitch up dangerously high, not to mention that Jounouchi's hands were hooked under those long legs of hers.

Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths…

The rest of the geeks were cheering and jeering from the seats in the audience. No one noticed his presence in the back. He stood there for few moments, just watching them like he had done many times before. This time however, he had no scathing words for them, not when Anzu looked so happy, not when he wanted to be so much a part of it for her. His departure also went unnoticed.

"Okay, Jounochi," she was out of breath form laughing. "Stop. Put me down," she tried to sound stern but the bubbling giggles made it difficult.

"Yeah, you guys. I'm getting hungry. Let's get out of here," someone shouted from the seats, Honda being the most likely culprit.

It took a few moments for everyone to settle down and grab their belongings. Anzu was laughing as she grabbed her stuff from backstage, feeling extremely happy even though the guys had ruined her practice. Her friends noticed her lack of enthusiasm throughout the day and had arranged to visit her during her practice to cheer her up. A few moments after she entered the auditorium, her friends had walked through the door, claiming that it would be better to wait for her and then heading to the arcades together. Needless to say, she hadn't gotten much done. She smiled anyway, her friends were more important that one missed practice. She'd make it up later.

"Hey."

"Ahh!" Startled, she dropped her backpack.

"Sorry, Anzu," Ryu said sheepishly as she steeped fully from the shadows.

"It's okay," Anzu gave a little nervous laugh. "I'm a little paranoid I guess. It comes with the territory of being friends with Yugi. With all we've been through I'm lucky I don't jump at every little noise."

"You have been very brave."

"Thanks." But she wasn't feeling very brave now. Her skin was crawling. It went far beyond being merely uncomfortable with him after refusing to go out with him.

"Let's go meet with the others. They must be waiting for us outside." He smiled at her again and all the tension in her dissolved. Perhaps she was being paranoid. Ryu was an amazing friend, even if he came on a little too strong sometimes. It was only awkwardness that had her on edge with him. He had been nothing but sweet to her.

"Anzu, I was wondering… You know the victory dance this Friday? Well, I was hoping that you and I could go together."

"Ryu, I-"

"I know you're with Kaiba. But he won't go and you do want to go, right? I'd be happy to take you."

"I don't think that'll be such a good idea."

"Just think about it."

"Okay," she said, because he looked so earnest.

Why couldn't she fall for guys like this? For Yugi? They were so sweet and understanding and so nice. It wasn't that Seto couldn't be any of those things, just that it was so much harder to see those traits in him. It wasn't working out, she thought, it wasn't working. She shouldn't have asked Seto out. She should have waited for him to say something to her, let her know she was interested in her as more than a friend. It was excruciating to be near him now, always wondering what he was thinking, if he really liked her, if she sounded silly to him, if she was spending too much time at his place…

She wasn't used to feeling so unsure of herself.

* * *

-

"Okay, what's going on? You've been giving me the silent treatment since this morning. You didn't say a word at lunch and I can't believe it's just because I didn't call Mokuba last night." Anzu was frustrated, nothing was going right, and now Seto had reverted to treating her as if she was dirt under his feet.

"He waited for you." He said through his teeth. "You told him you were going to call him."

"I didn't! You know I call him often. I just wasn't aware that it was a daily obligation."

"Now it's an obligation?" He glared down at her.

"You know that's not what I meant."

He shook his head, as if to say she wasn't worth his time, and turned around and headed for his car. She knew her friends were watching them across the campus quad, but she didn't care. She took after him and grabbed his arm. "Well, why didn't you call me?"

He shook himself free of her. "What? Why would I do that?"

"I'm always the one that calls you, the one that seeks you. I'm always the one that puts herself out there. I'm the one that always initiates things between us. And you know what? I'm tired of it! So, if you want to talk to me, then you're going to have to call me."

How had a conversation about Mokuba turned into… into this? To be honest, he really hadn't been angry about Mokuba. It had been him that had been waiting for her call. She used to call him when they didn't spend their day together, just to say hi. Since their date, those phone calls had disappeared. And now he was more confused than ever. He stared at her as she walked angrily away from him. Then he noticed the geek squad waving madly at him.

_What?_

Jounouchi was mouthing words at him, and for once he didn't think they were obscenities. They were telling him to go after Anzu, their hands signs to frantic to be misinterpreted. He was in the twilight zone, he had to be, in order for the geek squad to greet him every morning and telling him to go after their princess. This situation was so far out from his range of experience he had no idea of how to proceed. Then he realized he'd been standing in the middle of the school, alternating between staring after Anzu and her geek squad like an absolute idiot. Impulsively, he went after Anzu, somewhat gratified at hearing the geeks cheering behind him.

By the time Seto caught up with her she was by the school entrance doors. He mimicked her actions from before and held her by her arm. Anzu was looking up at him expectantly, not angry at all or even sad, just… as if she expected him to do something. Seto stared down at her, having absolutely no idea of what to do.

"Anzu, I… I…" Great, he was stuttering now. Perfect. Just perfect!

"Kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me." She enunciated every word carefully; leaving no doubt about what she wanted him to do.

TBC

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

_Okay, here it is the final chapter. I'm sorry for taking way too long for this… but you know life gets in the way._

_I have lost my beta for this chapter. However, thank you Mamono for helping me so much throughout this fic and the patience you've had with me. _

_Also, thank you for all the people that have reviewed. I hope you guys enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Yugi-Oh._

* * *

Her lips were a soft pink.

They were beautifully full, the bottom lip especially plump.

He wanted to nibble on it, wanted to run his tongue along the seam of her lips.

He wanted to taste her.

Seto's hands were shaking, his palms sweaty, his face was burning. This was not like him. He was never like himself when she was around. She twisted him into knots without even trying. He wanted to resent her for making him feel things he didn't want to, for making him feel like a fool. Yet he didn't. He didn't care. When she looked at him like she was doing now, he didn't care about anything but making her happy. Along with those feelings of inadequacy and complete irrationality were incredible feelings of joy, of warmth, and of love. It was incredible that with just one smile she could erase his sour moods, with one kiss his insides turned to mush, that she would bring his brain into a skidding stop with one small look.

He was such a sap. That's what she had turned him into. Strangely enough it didn't bother him as he thought it would.

Everyone around them disappeared as he lowered his lips to meet hers. She wrapped herself around him, sighing as he nibbled on her bottom lip. He groaned in appreciation as she unsealed her lips. She tasted like bubblegum, like heaven, so sweet. He lost himself in her, in the taste and feel of her…

They parted only when a group of laughing students exited the school, bumping into them carelessly.

"I'm not good at this," Seto said, his arms still around Anzu.

"Really? Because I thought that was awesome." She pecked his lips again.

He laughed self-consciously and ran a hand through his hair, which only made Anzu want to kiss him again. Before she could put her plan into motion he pulled away from her.

"We should probably take this somewhere else," He said, face reddening slightly.

"The auditorium should be empty." She told him, understanding how difficult it had been for him to let himself go in front of everyone.

Anzu waved goodbye to her friends as she passed them although they seemed highly engrossed in other matters at the moment. Jounouchi was completely absorbed in reading a book, if that wasn't unusual enough, the book was also upside down. Honda was whistling loudly at the sky, and Yugi was smiling and talking to himself. Jounouchi put the book down for a moment to spare a wink at her.

Nervous and fidgety they made their way to the auditorium. Once there, they made their selves comfortable on the stage floor. They leaned against the back wall, shoulder to shoulder; both a little scared, not knowing what to say. Always the courageous one, Anzu leaned closer to him, took his hand and laced her fingers with his.

"Anzu, what I meant earlier… I'm not good at this sort of thing." Exasperated, he ran his fingers through his hair again. "You know me better than anyone else…I…"

Suddenly Anzu realized that he was nervous. _She_ made him nervous. Anzu smiled and leaned in to give him a peck on the lips. He sighed loudly, pulled her into his lap and kissed her deeply.

"You keep saying you're bad at this, I just don't see it." She whispered dreamily against his chest.

Once more he laughed, kissing the top of her head. "You drive me absolutely crazy."

"But in the good way, right?" She stared up him, smiling tenderly.

"Most of the time." He said after careful deliberation.

"So you do like me?"

"Isn't that obvious by now, Mazaki?"

"Not to me, it wasn't, Kaiba."

How to explain that she loved him so much she forgot to think straight. That she turned all gooey inside if he so much as smirked at her. That he was so damn confusing and irritating and… so many other things that she couldn't describe but made her feel so… strange. He made her feel like nobody else had and she was so damn scared of what it might be like if he didn't care for her as much as she did.

"I told you I wasn't any good at this," Seto huffed out.

The anger seeped out of her as he heard his put-off tone. He was no better than she was at relationships. So much for his maturity. For the next words she burrowed into his chest, feeling unbelievably exposed. "I like you. I like you a lot."

"And yet you are going with Ryou to the dance."

"Is that what you were mad about? I'm not going with him. He asked me, but only as friends, and I said no just this morning. How'd you find out anyway?"

"It's high school," he said matter of fact.

"Of course. So you were jealous, huh?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Truth be told, he had been ready to kill someone one when he had heard the gossiping girls talking about Anzu going to the dance with that idiot. He was certain those girls knew exactly what they were doing when they saw him coming. It was common knowledge, even before they had started dating, that he and Anzu were together. It was a giant weight off his shoulders to know that rumors were false.

Since they were doing so well, she decided to let the comment go. For now. "But why have you been so cold to me?"

He stood up, careful to leave disentangle Anzu from him first, and started pacing. "I'm not like your friends. This isn't easy for me…" He wanted to tell her, all the things she probably wanted to hear, wanted to make her laugh like her friends did, wanted to make her just as happy. He would do just about anything for her, anything she wanted she could have; of course, he would never tell her so. It was enough that what he felt for her threatening to drown him, he didn't know what would happen if she knew exactly what he felt for her. Call the newspapers, Seto Kaiba, had officially transformed into a sap!

"You haven't been very approachable either." He accused.

"What? I've been-"

"Quiet and distant. Before I never thought you could keep that mouth of your shut for more than two minutes. Or your hands to yourself."

"Hey!" But she laughed and pulled him down again to stop him from pacing. She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to repair some of the damage he'd done. "I guess I have been a bit silly… and insecure."

"Yes, and I suffer from social retardation."

"We're doing pretty well now, aren't we?" She said as leaned over to give him a teasing kiss on the lips.

"I'd say so."

"So, where do you want to go for our next date? This time you choose."

"You decide."

"No. Why? You didn't enjoy yourself last time. I'm happy to go wherever you like. I just want to be with you." She fluttered her lashes for show and laughed when she was reward with a kiss.

"The sentiment is appreciated; however, I don't want you going only for my sake. I would hate it to be like last time, I want you to enjoy yourself."

"I would have enjoyed myself if it wasn't sitting with a block of ice, I'm sure I was frostbitten for most of the date."

"You're not funny. I don't understand how you can be so blind to it."

"I am funny," Anzu argued, giving him a mocking glare.

"Sure." He rolled his eyes. "Back to the point, dueling is not your forte."

"I never said it was," Anzu leaned backwards, resting on his chest, loving the way he put his arm around her and his chin on her shoulder, planting sweet little kisses on her neck. "But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it. My best friends are all guys-"

"Don't remind me," he interjected, peering down at her with an odd expression, his blue eyes rather tender and thoughtful; his hair blowing lightly from the wind. He really was beautiful, Anzu thought, bringing a hand up to trace his lips softly. Seto took her hand in his and pressed delicate kisses on each fingertip, her palm, the inside of her wrist.

"I thought you weren't good at this boyfriend thing."

"I meant the talking part."

"Oh," she made a rather unattractive face at the implications.

"You were saying?" He asked with a dead sexy evil smirk on his face.

"Well, all my best friends are guys and duelists. Of course I like dueling even if, as you rudely pointed out, it's not my forte. We've talked about dual monsters before… what did you think it was just for your benefit?"

He shrugged and quirked and eyebrow. "Wasn't it?" He'd always thought those discussions were due to her need to fill silences. If he wasn't so in love with her he might have said, 'her endless need to babble uncontrollably for an endless amount of time'. However, since he was pretty much head over heels for her, such thoughts really didn't bother him as much as they should have. Funny how a trait that had caused him more than a great deal of annoyance only months before now served to remind him how very unique and passionate she was.

"Please I don't like you _that_ much. Although, I can see how it would please your ego to think that I sat for four hours to watch a tournament just for—mmhph"

Laughing again (when was the last time he'd laughed this much?) he bent down and stilled her endless need to blabber, er, communicate.

In the shadows a pair of cold eyes watched them. Again, he thought, again she was taken away from him by that unworthy bastard. This time they would pay, and she would be his.

* * *

"Morning, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi's mouth gaped open, a slice of toast slipping toward the floor. "Huh?" Jounouchi's could swear he heard the theme of the twilight zone as Kaiba passed him. Then he wondered what had happened to make Kaiba boy so un-Kaiba like, but the thoughts that popped in his mind were better left unmentioned, since they involved his very best friend Anzu Mazaki. "EWW!"

Kaiba smiled as he heard the blonde boy's cry of disgust. Dating Anzu certainly came with perks, he thought, he had new material to torture the flea infested mutt. The day before Anzu had made him promise that he would try to be nicer to her friends. How she had managed to feat was still beyond him. If he wasn't such a bitter, cynical and evil boy genius, he would have been whistling. As it was, he had a reputation to protect.

"Hey, Kaiba!" Yugi was grinning widely up at him.

Seto had to fight the knee-jerk reaction to say something scathing to the smaller boy. "Morning." If it was possible, Yugi's smile became even wider.

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Yugi asked. To Seto's dismay Yugi fell into step with him, walking down the school halls as if they were two friends chatting before the start of first period. Seto had yet to get over the face the fact that Yugi was the better dualist and had beaten him more times that he could count. Added to that was the brand new offense of the midget having been infatuated with _his_ girlfriend for who knows how long and perhaps even dated her. Seto could have asked Anzu, but honestly he didn't want the answer to that question.

"I'm glad you and Anzu worked things out. I'm sure Mokuba is thrilled at the news." They spotted Anzu coming toward them. "Oh, and by the way, Anzu and I never dated. I thought you would like to know."

"There you are, Yugi, come on, class is almost starting." She dragged Yugi away but not before winking at Seto.

"See you later, Kaiba!" Yugi called out loudly.

"Stop bothering my boyfriend."

"Kaiba didn't seem to mind… that much." He snickered beneath his hand.

"Oh, you're just as bad as the others." Anzu looked back; saw Seto still staring after them. So she blew him a kiss and noticed a small twitch of his lips. "He's so hot, isn't he?"

"Umm… sure." Yugi gulped uncomfortably, this was the reason why he was glad he only had one female best friend.

Ever since the day before, Anzu seemed to be floating somewhere near the vicinity of cloud nine. It didn't matter that they would never hold hands through the school halls, or give quick kisses before their classes, or indulge in embraces and other normal gestures that were normal indulgences of young couples. They weren't, what one would call, a typical couple. Those things were of the least importance now. Seto reciprocated her feelings, had decided to give them a chance. He liked her and that was that. She couldn't believe she'd been such a girl. But dating taciturn, cynical millionaires was very new to her.

Yugi threw a rolled piece of paper to Anzu, startling her. He mouthed 'pay attention'. She nodded and for a whole of five seconds stared attentively at the professor, then that goofy smile went right back on her face. The girl had been zoning out since they entered the classroom, no doubt thinking about Kaiba, playing with the necklace that he'd give her. To be completely honest, he felt a little twinge of envy at the dreamy expression on his friend. He'd always had a feeling there had been a connection between Kaiba and Anzu… they had always been so confrontational.

Sadly, Yugi had also known that whatever attraction Anzu had felt toward him was for his other half.

He supposed it was a good sign that Yami supported the developing relationship between those two. Since Yugi first started noticed the odd interaction between Anzu and Kaiba, Yami had been all for it, advising Yugi to offer his support. Things had turned out pretty well. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous, wondering when it would be his turn to place a goofy smile on someone's face. But overall he was happy for his friend and happy for Kaiba as well. In time perhaps he would warm up to them. He ignored the fact that after many years Kaiba of knowing them he had yet to warm up to them. Still, Anzu had managed to do so. It would definitely take effort and time and even then, Jounouchi's hyperactive personality might prove too powerful for Kaiba to overcome.

* * *

"What could be so important that you would make me skip class?"

Jounouchi hated that he had to look up at Kaiba, especially since he was sure Kaiba _loved_ looking down on him. "Listen here, Kaiba-boy, judging from the nauseous display of affection, not to mention your unusual greeting just a few moments ago I'd say you and Anzu are getting along quite well now."

"You are a genius."

"Hey! I'm doing my best here you know, you damn beanpole! You might be a no-fun cyborg with absolutely no sense of humor whatsoever, however if Anzu likes you. So will I. Ahh, that came out wrong-"

"I do have a sense of humor. You're just not funny." This one was as bad as Anzu, Seto thought, they just couldn't shut up.

"As I was saying, moneybags, for Anzu I will try be nicer to you."

"Fine."

"Fine? What do you mean fine? Aren't you going to try to do the same thing?"

Seto didn't really want to get in the whole discussion of how he had promised to be nicer with her friends. "You want to duel?"

"Wha?"

"We've already missed class, we might as well duel to kill some time until next time. If you lose, you get to wear the dog suit-"

"No way!"

"If I lose, I will wear it."

Jounouchi perked up. "'kay."

* * *

"You're not going to believe this."

"What, what?"

Anzu waited expectantly for Honda to spill it already. It had to be something good to have Honda in such a state. However, since their third period class was about to start, Honda wisely took his seat. After the attendance had been taken, he handed a note at Anzu.

_Jounouchi got detention._

Anzu rolled her eyes. _That's not hard to believe._

_It is when factor in that he got detention along with your boyfriend._

_What happened? Were they fighting?_

_Calm your beating heart girl, they were caught skipping class… and dueling! LOL!!_

_You're kidding._

_Nope._

No way, it wasn't possible. She looked back at Honda, trying so hard to keep the laughter that threatened to burst out. It had to be a mistake, there was no way Seto would get detention period, and especially not for ditching class to play with Jounouchi. It didn't make any sense.

* * *

It turned out to be true.

And now Jounouchi and Seto weren't talking to each other because they both blamed each other for being caught. As it could have been much worse, Anzu was glad for that that they were _only_ not talking to each other.

"Honey, your boyfriend is here." Her mother called from downstairs. In a very surprising turn of events, Anzu had asked Seto to the Victory dance and surprise, surprise, he had agreed to go.

Anzu checked herself in the mirror one last time before heading down. She was wearing a strapless red dress that flared at the waist, she adjusted the skirt again; then applied some more cherry flavored lip gloss and then she noticed her hair wasn't quite right…

Ten minutes later she came down.

After promising that Seto would be coming for dinner the next day, they finally made their way to Seto's waiting limo. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Aren't you going to comment on how I look?"

"No."

"Seto." Anzu said in a warning tone.

"What do you want me to say?" he said, exasperated.

"Something along the lines of 'you've never looked so beautiful'.

"You always look beautiful Anzu, you cannot expect me to tell you so every time I see you."

That had been the sweetest thing a boy had ever said to her. "Seto-"

"Ew, you're not going to kiss are you? Cuz, if you are, please warn me so I can take the appropriate measures to save myself from becoming scarred for life." Mokuba had popped his head out the window and was sporting a seriously disgruntled look.

"You don't mind, do you?" Seto asked Anzu.

"Of course not." Anzu said, opening the door and climbing in next to Mokuba and hugging the boy. "We'll find a way to sneak you in."

Mokuba stuck his tongue at his older brother's expression as Anzu continued to embrace him. "Told you she'd be happy."

"Why is Jounouchi wearing a dog suit?" Mokuba questioned his older brother, having a hunch that he had something with it. He had sneaked in through the girl's bathroom window. The girls that were in there had only been too happy to help such a cute little boy.

"Because I was winning before that idiot caught us."

This night was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She was with her dearest friends, with her boyfriend and little Mokuba. She a snuck a kiss to her boyfriend.

"Are you having fun?" Seto asked.

"Yes. How are you holding up?"

"The mutt is in a dog suit, what's not to like?"

Anzu laughed in spite of herself. Tonight was perfect, what could possibly go wrong?

Suddenly the lights went out.

Oh, crap, Anzu thought, I jinxed it. She attached herself to Seto, not wanting to loose him until they fixed the lights. "Mokuba," she called out, searching blindly with her arm for a mop of hair.

"It's okay, I have him." Seto squeezed her waist.

"You alright, sweetie?"

"Yeah." Mokuba answered, coming around to embrace both Anzu and Seto.

"Good evening, everyone." The booming voice quieted the rising voices of the students.

Then a single light turned on, outlining an oncoming figure who walked slowly to center of the basketball court.

"What the hell is Ryuo doing?" Seto asked his arm still possessively around Anzu and his brother.

"That is not Ryuo." Anzu told him.

"What?"

"It's Bakura." Yugi informed him.

"Who?" Seto asked, puzzled but knowing trouble was coming.

And herein begins another adventure in the lives of Yugi Motou and Company.

The End

* * *

_Okay, that's it!!! _

_BTW, there will no sequel. Just thought it would be a fun way to end it. _


End file.
